As if life weren't already complicated
by Orange H
Summary: Titan adventures on in an attempt to continue Genndy's work...with a new character that will leave your jaw dropped! An old connection to Lance that breaks everyone's heart...especially his. If you're not hooked by the end of chapter 3, feel free to move on, but I guarantee you that you will be. As the war rages on Galaluna, a battle of love and mentality occurs on Earth.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would still be on, and not cancelled due to _lack of merchandise_.**

**Hey, guys! This is my first fanfic, so be honest- I know it's not perfect (hardly anything is), but I do appreciate feedback! New character will be introduced later in the story, and it will kind of flip everything around. Not sure how many chapters this will be, but when I end up ending it, I promise to end it with some sort of closure (because I hate it when other people don't). Let me know about any grammatical errors, I'll try and fix them. Enjoi!**

Chapter One

He couldn't believe she was making him do this.

"Come on, Lance!" called Ilana, a fair distance ahead of him and standing in front of…

Oh, no. No way in hell was he going in there. It was every guy's worst nightmare to be dragged into… _Aldo. _The dreaded shoe store that every man tried to avoid. How could he have let this happen? He should have realized where this was going…

"Laaaance!" Ilana called once more. "C'mooooon! Stop being such a slowpoke!"

Sighing, Lance walked toward the prison of shoes in which he would be stuck in for the next hour. Once Ilana was in 'shopping mode', there was no stopping her. As she started browsing over the shoes, he sat down sullenly on one of the cushioned (yet still uncomfortable) chairs.

Ilana picked up a shoe and turned to Lance. She frowned. "Stop being such a sourpuss, Lance. It's not that bad. And is there any way you could make you face just a little bit more pleasant?"

Lance looked up, slightly irritated. "Hey, this is my shoe-shopping face. You know I hate this. It's torture. So, if you absolutely _insist _on going shoe shopping, then you have to deal wi-" Lance stopped short, gaping at the-the- _thing _in Ilana's hand. Could it even be called a shoe? Lance wasn't sure. It looked more like some kind of torture device to him. With heels six inches high, a pattern of snakeskin and leather, spikes all over it, and an exposed toe so pointed that it could be used to stab someone, it was the only piece of clothing Lance had ever seen that scared him. He knew these Earthlings were weird, but their sense of style was…was…

Lance just looked at her. "Please tell me you're not serious."

"Huh?" Ilana looked momentarily confused, then remembered the shoe in her hand. "Oh!" She exclaimed, perking up and examining the shoe further. "Don't you just love it?! I think it's totally fab!"

Lance just shook his head, hoping his horrified expression conveyed his message. "No. Absolutely not."

Ilana's face fell, and she started to put the shoe back on the shelf. Damn, he thought. I've gotta stop doing that. He hated to see her disappointed, and the fact that he was usually the cause of her disappointment didn't exactly help his conscience. "No, no", he said quickly. "That's not what I meant. I mean, it's absolutely not totally fab, it's…extremely fab!" Lance cringed, not sure which emotion was stronger- the guilt from lying to her or the embarrassment of his lame attempt to cheer her up. Fortunately for him, Ilana always believed the best of people (which made him even more guilty), and wasn't very good at detecting lies.

Her face lit up once more. "Really?! I thought for sure you wouldn't like it." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you sure you really like them?"

Lance put his hands up in a surrender gesture and put on his best puppy dog eyes. "Hey, I wouldn't buy 'em, but I'm sure they'll look… _fab_ on you. Why don't you try them on?"

Her smile returned, Ilana called over a clerk and asked for the…shoes… in her size. When Lance heard her shoe size, he was slightly surprised. "You're a women's five?"

"Yeah", Ilana said. She looked at him. "Why?"

Lance shrugged. "I dunno. Sounds kinda small". Ilana's cheeks turned a light shade of rose and she glanced at her feet. For crying out loud, how did he always manage to say exactly the wrong thing? He tried to correct his blunder. "Then again, it's not like I know about women's shoe sizes." Ilana giggled, and Lance felt slightly better. He tried again. "And I'm sure they're very-" Lance stopped, mentally kicking himself. What was he thinking? He couldn't say that, especially not to the princess!

Ilana looked at him curiously. "Very what?" Lance flushed a deep red and looked away. Man, he was out of it today. "Lance?" Ilana asked gently, bending over to look at him. His heart started beating wildly as he took her in, so hard he was sure she could hear it. Her lips were slightly flush, her hair glowing softly. They smelled of… what were they called? Lemons… and oranges, too. Her shirt shifted slightly down, and- no. No, Lance. Look back up. Her eyes sparkled in the dim lighting, and his face was reflected back at him.

He closed his mouth.

It would be so easy right now, just to take her face in his hands, to lean in and- wait, what was he thinking? This was Ilana. This was the princess of Galaluna he was thinking abo ki- his guilt kept him from completing the thought.

"Ummm…nothing", he said. Ilana looked at him, slightly sad. He knew that look; it was the look that was an apology- an apology for nothing she had done wrong. He sighed, already mentally kicking himself for what he was about to say. This was not appropriate.

"Pretty", he mumbled. Ilana turned away from the box the clerk had just brought back. "I'm sorry?" Lance tried to regulate his breathing. He sighed again. "I'm sure they're very pretty".

Ilana flushed once more, a mirror of Lance's own face. He looked down, and in doing so realized she had tried on the shoes. Before he could stop himself: "And I was right."

For about the fifth time that day, Lance felt like slapping himself. He was hopeless. If possible, both of them got even more red. "Thank you", she mumbled, always showing proper etiquette, no matter how awkward the situation. A true princess.

She changed the subject from her feet to the shoes on them (it was easier to think of them as shoes with feet in them). "Do you like them?" Lance couldn't understand why this simple question elevated his heartbeat back up to about 200. She wasn't asking _him_, just the only person in the store she knew. It wasn't that she valued his opinion, exactly. Not in that way… so then why did he become so jumpy whenever she asked him a question?

"I'll admit, you actually manage to make them look good." And it was true. Her feet were so delicate, you would think the shoes would look like monsters eating them. But, somehow, they didn't. The spikes seemed softer, the toe more rounded, the snakeskin blended in with the leather and together they matched her skin tone. Somewhere in his brain, he realized he was starting to think like a girl, but he didn't really care. Ilana was overjoyed by his response.

"You really think so?! Me, too!" Lance did, however, frown a bit when a thought came to him. Naturally, the emotion radar in Ilana's head went off and, when noticing the frown, copied it. "What's wrong? They don't look good after all, do they?" She slumped back down into the chair again.

"No, no, no!" Lance assured. "They really do look great. It's just…are they comfortable?" Ilana smiled, and stood up.

And, naturally, fell face-first toward the shelf jutting out from the wall.

"Ilana!" Lance automatically put himself between her and the shelf just in time, despite the fact that he had been behind her when she fell. She fell into his chest. _It must feel hard to her_, he thought.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Are you okay?" He asked. She looked up, obviously embarrassed. "Yeah," she mumbled, looking up at him. "Thank you. Are you all right?"

He laughed, and she looked down again. Dammit. "Of course I'm fine, Ilana. I'm a soldier, not a teddy bear."

She poked him in his abs and smiled. "Well, you're definitely not as plush as one." He laughed. That was when he realized he was still holding her, and the whole store was watching them. The Lunis family was a major source of gossip in Sherman, so naturally everyone knew (or, rather, _thought) _that Lance and Ilana were related. It must have looked pretty strange to them, and the fact that it would even _look_ strange, Lance realized, was bad. The King had sent Lance there to protect Ilana, not to…uhm.

Ilana must have noticed the store looking at them, too, because she straightened herself. Lance released her from his arms, but for some reason, he didn't want to. He just wanted to keep holding her. Lance blinked hard.

He cleared his throat. "So, uh, are you getting them?"

"Yeah, I think so, just let me try and learn to walk again", Ilana joked, and Lance, despite his previous strict mental scolding, allowed for a small smile.

The rest of the time in the shoe store was spent with Ilana walking in baby steps, Lance right next to her. Every once in a while she would fall, and Lance would catch her. She would giggle, and Lance would straighten her, sometimes resisting a smirk, and sometimes a smile. He was never cold toward her, though; he had learned that a while ago, and tried not to do so anymore. She eventually learned to walk in them, and as they walked out of Aldo with the shoes in the bag, Lance couldn't help but wonder: "When are you ever going to wear those?"

Ilana looked at him like he was a child who had just asked and obvious question. Lance wasn't sure whether he felt insulted or amused. The look only lasted for a second, though; her manners had kicked in and she put on a polite smile, the one reserved for strangers. This made him sad.

"Why, to school, of course", Ilana answered, and Lance looked at her quizzically. "And how are you going to be able to shuffle to class in time with those things on?"

Ilana shrugged. "I'll learn." Lance put on a stern face, and it took everything he had not to turn it into a joke by wagging a finger at her. "Promise me you won't try to walk in those without me there. Or without wearing protective gear. And don't even _think_ about stairs in those."

Ilana sighed and made a pouty face. "You spoil all the fun." Ah, man. Lance looked at her. "Oh, so _I'm _the fun stealer? That's rich, coming from someone whose idea of entertainment is going _shoe shopping_." Lance tensed slightly, afraid he had gone too far, but his joke was received well. Ilana laughed and mock-punched him as they strolled out of the mall and into Lance's car, and each was lost in their own happy thoughts on the way back to the house.

**Ta-da! What do you think?! Please comment, it'll really help updating speed. Unfortunately, I cannot promise to update on a regular basis, because high school is hectic, and finals start Wednesday (but also tomorrow). I have a feeling this series will turn out to be more romantic-y than fight-y. Uh, yeah. comment, and have a good day! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAMIER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it wouldn't have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise**_**.**

**Hi again! So, I know this one is kind of long, but it's leading up to the next one, in which a HUMONGOUS secret is revealed! It's going to be totally epic! Anyway, thanks for reading, review, and let me know about any grammatical errors. Major reason this chapter is up so quickly? I got my first review- big thanks purpledragon6. Oh, and the question is: I like (blank) for breakfast, and she answered 'toast'. It'll all make sense shortly… now read! :) **

Chapter 2

The car pulled into the dimly lit garage, and Lance put it in park. Taking out the keys, he got out and opened the door for Ilana. "Thank you", she said as she got out, smiling. Lance popped the trunk (which was deceivingly large for its size) and started hauling out shopping bags. One after another, from all kinds of stores: Macy's, Nordstrom's, Gap, Forever 21, Wet Seal, and, of course, Aldo's. Lance was lucky that the shoe escapade had ended their journey, because the mall wouldn't have closed for another two and a half hours and there was NO WAY that Lance wanted to spend any more time in that place than he needed to. It was hazardous- with so many bodies in such a small place, and the noise an almost deafening roar (don't even get him started on what is was like during the Macy's one-day sale), the place was _definitely _a safety concern. With more and more Mutradi attacks as of late, and especially the whole nightmare where Octus had almost left them forever (he shuddered just thinking about it), Lance's feeling of responsibility for the princess's safety was steadily increasing. _How odd, _ he thought. _I don't really think of her as the princess of Galaluna as much as I think of her as… well, Ilana. _Lance stopped. His thoughts were treading on dangerous territory.

They walked into the house and Lance helped Ilana take the shoes up to her room. Even with Lance carrying the majority of the load, Ilana was still panting by the time they reached the top. Lance smirked, but was careful not to let Ilana see. Earth was softening her up.

He placed the bags on her bed. "I don't know where you're going to find the time to wear all this stuff", he muttered. Ilana giggled politely, hand over her mouth, and responded: "Well, I don't know about _you, _but _I _tend to wear clothes."

Lance shook his head. "But the styles on Earth are so…so…atrocious. They look terrible." He noticed Ilana look down slightly, and tried to recover. "Not on you, though; they look great!" He sounded like such a fool, even to himself. "Or whatever", he mumbled.

Ilana, however, obviously appreciated the compliment. Her eyes sparkled, and her freckles seemed to dance. "Really?" She was looking at him just like he was looking at her- eyes soft, a light flush on the cheeks. She was so excited, so…pretty.

WAIT. NO.

Lance nonchalantly rolled his eyes. "Well, of course, princess." Ilana showed a small smile, and then followed him in his retreat downstairs and out of her bedroom.

Octus was vacuuming at the foot of the steps in the disguise as Mr. Lunis (the windows were open). As he looked up to greet them, a concerned frown crossed his face. "Rift gate just open?" asked Lance, slightly annoyed. It was dinnertime. He could imagine what Ilana must have been thinking: _these Mutradi have terrible manners- didn't they know never to interrupt dinner? _

Octus continued frowning. "No, not that I know of. But did you run into the Mutradi or something at the mall?"

Lance frowned, too. "No…why?"

Octus moved out of view of the windows and transformed to his regular robot form. He scanned them as he spoke. "According to my readings, both of your heart rates are extremely elevated."

_Oh god, Octus. Really? Really?! _Lance's face flushed a deep red. He didn't dare glance at Ilana, but if he had, he would have seen her looking at her feet, just as red and just as embarrassed.

Lance cleared his throat. "I'm going to go work out", he mumbled, and climbed back up the stairs. He needed to relieve some stress.

Ilana walked into the kitchen, and a wonderful aroma wafted towards her. "It smells delicious!" exclaimed Ilana. She walked over to the stove, where Octus was stirring…what was that? "Um, Octus?"

"Yes, princess?"

"What is that?"

"It is called broccoli and cheese soup. Supposedly these people like it very much." Ilana looked skeptically at the orange and green mixture. _But Octus is a great cook, _she thought. _Unless the recipe he finds is faulty. _

Relieved to see he was using a cookbook, she sat down at the kitchen table and began to do her Spanish homework. Me gusta para el desayuno. She thought before filling in the blank with 'el pan tostado'.

Lance walked into the room, a thin sheen of sweat covering his body from his workout. And he stunk.

"Pee-yew, Lance!" Ilana complained lightly. "Please go take a shower, you kind of-" She stopped, realizing she was being rude.

"Stink?" Lance finished for her. He rolled his eyes, but she thought she could detect an almost non-existent (and it might have just been that) blush at the tips of his ears. "Yeah, that happens after people exercise." _Lance, flushing? _thought Ilana. _He has been acting pretty strange lately; I hope he's not getting sick…_

"Oh, by the way, there's something you guys should know." Ilana and Lance both turned to Octus, as he turned around and shifted… uncomfortably? Can a robot feel uncomfortable? "I…might have invited someone over to dinner tonight."

Ilana blinked. Well, that certainly explained why he was cooking so much stew. She looked over at Lance, who was looking slightly exasperated. "You didn't."

The doorbell rang.

Octus went to get the door, transforming into Newton. Lance sighed. "That'll be Kimmy." His face scrunched up, and he looked down at his sweat-soaked T-shirt. "Jeez, I _do _stink." He sighed and looked at Ilana. Tell Octu- _Newton_ that I'll be down in a sec, I'm going to go take a quick rinse." He went through the back door from the kitchen so Kimmy wouldn't see him climbing the steps. A small smile crossed Ilana's face. _So, he _does _care…_

Ilana went out to greet their guest.

The two Galalunian teenagers looked cautiously at their plates, then at each other. The message between them was obvious, even to Kimmy. She laughed. "What, haven't you guys ever eaten Newton's cooking before? It's delicious."

She herself dove right in, swallowed, and smiled. "See? Nothing to be afraid of. It's great."

"It's not his cooking we're worried about, it's the dish." Lance was still looking warily at his bowl. His shower had left him smelling like aftershave, and she found that surprisingly…sexy. The thought surprised her. Lance, sexy? But he was so… Lance.

Kimmy rolled her eyes good-naturedly. She sure had changed since they last saw her, before the whole ordeal with Octus'…deactivation. "You guys haven't ever had broccoli and cheese soup? You guys are hardly American."

They all tensed as her words sent a silent shock through them. Kimmy frowned, then laughed. "So, _that's _your big secret. You guys aren't American."

The reaction was instant. Newton put apart a separate part of his brain (processor?) to analyze Kimmy's heartbeat and determine whether Kimmy was serious or not. Lance's reaction, however, was slightly more obvious. His face turned from his soup to Kimmy. He shifted his chair out so he could move quickly if necessary, and positioned his body to protect Ilana without ever leaving his seat. Ilana found herself as a combination of the both of them. While analyzing Kimmy's reaction, she shifted toward Lance. This surprised her slightly. Why? Lance was, after all, her protector- in more ways than one…

Kimmy noticed the siblings, and this troubled her. They were, after all, siblings- she could understand why Lance would want to protect Ilana, under normal circumstances. She might not have understood what she said to make them react like that- lots of people had foreign ethnicity nowadays- but she knew love when she saw it. She knew the stages. And she knew that, despite the fact that they were related, they were in love (or at least getting there). She noticed how his protective stance was different from that of a regular brother- he wasn't just protecting someone he cared about, he was protecting someone he _cared_ about. And the way she looked at him- she adored him. She looked up to him (and not just because he was taller than her). They reacted around each other to the simplest of things; she wondered if they realized that.

Kimmy looked at them skeptically. "Sheesh, guys, calm down. There's nothing wrong with coming from another country; it's not like I called you aliens or something."

Despite the 'alien' comment, the three seemed to understand she was just kidding. Newton's analysis also confirmed this, so they settled back into (what seemed like) a relaxed dinner.

Kimmy hesitated, about to ask a question. Ilana dreaded what might be coming next. Her boyfriend had, after all, mysteriously disappeared with the two of them and then just popped back- that was nothing if not strange. The question, however, never came- Kimmy seemed to think better of it and instead tried to persuade Lance to try the soup.

Despite her careless façade, Kimmy wasn't the only one with thoughts on her mind- while the aliens were recovering from the scare she had unknowingly given them, she was flashing back to her reunion with Newton…

_She was reading a magazine when he came back to her. _

_The doorbell rang. Kimmy, slightly annoyed (she was almost at the shoe section of her fashion magazine), put down the latest styles and went to get it. _

_She opened the door, and there he was. _

_The reunion that followed was as expected- the crying, the hugging, the demanding where he had been, and the kissing. Oh, yes, the kissing. She hadn't realized how much she had missed it until the first one came, electric as usual. That tingly sensation in her body flowed through her once more, and she realized just how worried she had been in that moment. She broke away and sobbed into his shoulder as he comforted her. _He was getting better at these things, _she realized_. He's not as mechanical, more touchy-feely.

_And how she wanted the touchy-feely. _

_She wasn't willing to risk it, though- he was back and that was all that mattered. Well, almost. _

"_Where have you been?" she demanded after she was done with the crying. His face, for once, betrayed his emotions. He was… sad. "I can't tell you. I'm sorry", he murmured, and for once he believed that he meant it. He _was_ sorry. "There are some things that are beyond my control, that are not my secrets to tell." He looked at her pleadingly. "Please try to understand."_

_She looked at him for a long time, studying him. And that's when she realized that it didn't matter. She loved him regardless. And he loved her, too- she could see it in his eyes. _

_She sighed. "I believe you, and I forgive you. I guess I just want to make this work without you having to run off to the 'bathroom' every five minutes. I guess I'm just jealous that you spend more time with Lance and Ilana than with your own girlfriend." The last sentence surprised her- she had never admitted anything so deep to herself, much less to a boy. _

_Newton's face softened. "They are my family", was all he said. She smiled. "I know."_

_At that moment it was understood that they were back together, and this time for the win…_

"Bye, honey", said Newton, and she realized that they were at the door. She smiled. He had taken to calling her nicknames like a normal couple; pumpkin, sugar, honey. She knew, though- they were anything but normal.

She leaned up, and he noticed. Anticipating her, he leaned down, and their lips met.

And what a kiss. The electricity they typically shared in a kiss was stronger this time, with more emotion. Kimmy found that she couldn't break away, and she felt his sturdy hand on her back… and where it was going.

Ilana saw it, too.

For lack of a better response, she interrupted them. "Um, Newton, could you help us clean up the kitchen?"

He broke away right as his hand neared Kimmy's lower waist. The couple shared a blush, bid each other good night, and left. Newton turned to her, slightly… annoyed? "I'm sorry, what?" he asked.

She cleared her throat, and decided his battery was probably low and needed to recharge, that's why his decision making was so… wacky. "Why don't you go charge? You have to have a low battery." He frowned but did as she suggested, climbing the stairs and shutting his door.

And Lance broke out in laughter behind her.

She jumped, startled; she hadn't been aware of his presence. He was rolling on the floor in laughter, and despite the fact that it was a rather serious issue, she couldn't manage to keep a straight face- a smile crept on to it, and she found herself giggling as well.

Once they were done laughing, she found that Lance was worried, too.

"Um…" She looked at him, but he couldn't seem to continue. For some reason the tips of his ears and his cheeks were the color of a light pink rose. "Yes?" she asked. He looked at her.

"Octus' relationship with Kimmy, it…worries me." He frowned into the pot he was scrubbing. "I feel the same way", she responded. "I mean, of course he should be happy, but he seems to be becoming more and more human. I'm not sure if his program is adapting to camouflage more like a human with real emotions, or if we and Kimmy are just seeing what we think is there."

Lance nodded. "I know what you mean. And if he _is _becoming more like a human, does that make the programs that make him a robot in danger of being lost?" Ilana shrugged.

"And his relationship with Kimmy." He cleared his throat and started flushing once more. He didn't go on, and Ilana pressured him slightly. "Yes?"

It all came out in a rush. "Well-you-know-that-he's-the-guy-in-the-relationship-and-while-what-we-saw-today-at-the-door-was-hilarious", he took a quick break, getting pinker and pinker. "Well-I-think-we-should-let-him-know-about-his-" Lance searched for the right word. "_responsibilities_-as-a-teenage-boy-in-a-relationship." Ilana blinked at him. Was he saying… "You want to have the sex talk with a robot."

Lance was beet red now. He scrubbed the pan harder, wishing he could take back what he said. Really, he was talking about the 'sex talk' with a princess…ugh, man, he was such an idiot.

Ilana chuckled. "Realistically, Lance, he _is _a robot. I'm sure he can access those responsibilities on the internet, or whatever. And, personally, I'll be honest: I'm not exactly looking forward to that conversation."

Lance looked at her, relieved she didn't tease him about his suggestion. But then, she never did- she was always kind and caring, beautiful and- Lance mentally scolded himself again, but he was beginning to think it wasn't working. He had to stop thinking of her like that.

Lance frowned once more. "Despite all that, though, I'm worried about Kimmy. I think she really loves him…Is it fair for Newton to get involved in a relationship to which he may not be able to give Kimmy what she deserves?"

Now, this surprised Ilana. Greatly. She had never known Lance to speculate like this, especially not to her. She smiled. "We'll have to see how it goes, I suppose. Both of them want it." She poked him as they put away the last of the dishes. "Maybe, on the inside, you are a soft teddy bear after all."

There was a semi-awkward silence, both reflecting upon the events in Aldo earlier in the day.

That's when their lives changed forever.

Octus came into the room in his robot form. Both looked up at him, startled and embarrassed, wondering how much he had heard. Lance was the one to ask: "How long were you there?"

"I just came downstairs now", responded Octus. "We have an emergency."

They both stiffened. They knew what was coming next. Or, at least, they thought they did.

But they had no idea.

"The rift gate has opened", explained Octus. Lance and Ilana looked at each other, tired of the Mutradi intruding quiet evenings.

"There is a twist, though", said the robot. That got their attention. "Due to some recent updating, my programs have been highly enhanced. I am now able to detect the exact forms of life from any life form exiting the rift gate on this side, whether it be monster or humanoid."

"Well?" asked Lance. "What monster did the Mutradi send this time?"

"That's just it", Octus explained. "I have been able to determine that all of the previous monsters the Mutradi have sent to destroy us have originated from a certain point on Mutrad. They must have been able to hook up the signal to open the rift gate from a palace there, because nothing has been sent from Galaluna." Ilana choked a little upon hearing the name of her planet.

Octus continued. "This life form isn't a monster."

Lance and Ilana looked at him, dumbfounded.

"It's humanoid", said Octus.

They kept staring, not believing the next statement, because Octus wasn't done speaking yet. And with the information he had just given them, that could only mean…

Octus finished their thoughts for them.

"The humanoid is Galalunian."

**Ta-da! So, what do you think?! This is the intro to the next couple of chapters- it gets really crazy from there! When Kimmy and Octus kissed, it was electric. Get it?! Because he's a robot! (slaps knee). Haha, yeah, well… I know this is a cliffhanger, so I'll try to update faster, but like I said, finals week…ugh. What will happen next? Fufufufu….**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it wouldn't have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise**_**. **

**Hola! So, I know I left you guys on a cliffhanger at the end of the last one, but this one leaves on an even bigger cliffhanger, fufufu… (ps. Purpledragon6- yes, this chapter reveals that ;) ). Thanks for all of you coming back on a daily basis, you rock! Think I got a B on the English final *sob*. Anyway, REVIEW, enjoy, and REVIEW. Really helps the updating process. You'll never believe how this one turns out! Gonna be epic!**

Chapter 3

They both stared at him.

No. Fricking. Way.

They spoke in unison, one with hope and one with disbelief. "WHAT?!"

Octus looked at them and nodded. "I know, it surprised me too, and I'm a robot." He waited for them to react, but they just stood there. "…do you want to go check it out?"

Ilana was the first to respond. "Yes! Let's go! It could be someone bearing news that the war is over!"

Lance thought of the darker possibilities, but did not say them aloud.

"Ilana, calm down a bit…" Ilana twirled to look at Lance. She tried to look annoyed, but couldn't manage it over the humongous, bright smile plastered to her face. This was exactly what he was afraid of. "Calm down? Lance, this is huge!" She couldn't contain her excitement. A Galalunian was coming!

Lance looked at her sadly. On the inside, Ilana was slightly annoyed by this. Couldn't he see? This was wonderful. Lance only gave her one warning. "Just, try not to get your hopes up too high. Things are hardly ever what they appear to be, and I don't want to see you be disappointed again." Ilana gave a small smile, and despite that someone from her home planet- _their _home planet, she corrected herself- was coming, for a second all she thought about was how cute he was. _He's worrying about me, _she realized. The thought made her smile.

"Don't worry, Lance, there won't be any reason for me to be disappointed. When has Octus' information ever been wrong?"

Lance put on a normal face, but on the inside he was worried. Ilana didn't exactly have the best luck when it came to things she was devoted to. He remembered the homecoming dance and how sad she had been when she had to fight the Mutraddi instead. As they flew above the town in the night sky, all he could think about was how he didn't want that to happen again. Another thought ran through his head. _Everyone I used to know is either dead or a traitor. People from Galaluna don't affect _me _anymore, that's for sure. _

He had no idea just how wrong he was.

Lance frowned as they landed at the location Octus had pinpointed. The robot's voice cut through the night air. "I have determined this to be the center of the radius in which the humanoid's space craft could have landed due to the angle at which the pod came out of the rift gate." _No matter how much Octus might have adapted to appear human, _thought Lance, _his processing systems are certainly still top-notch. _

Lance looked around and frowned slightly. The place brought back memories- a landing, an army, a fight.

This was the exact place they had landed just over a year ago.

He supposed it made sense, though. If the pod was sent from the palace, too, it would land in the same place. _If _their little visitor was from the palace. Another thought crossed his mind, deepening his frown. What if the visitor wasn't Galalunian? What if they had finally taken the palace? That would mean the King would be… Lance couldn't finish the thought.

Suddenly Octus was in his head, his…face (?) displayed on the monitor inside his armor. His voice filled his helmet: "Guys, I appear to have missed something." Lance tensed. "Yeah?"

The robot continued. "More than one thing came through the rift gate. The humanoid had company- as it turns out, the Mutraddi _did _send a monster. The reason I missed it was because they both came through the same opening. My analysis system interpreted both their signals as one, so the two signals only separated now because the signal is stronger. The good news is that this is definitely where they landed- so keep your eyes out."

Lance nodded, though he knew Octus couldn't see it. "Right." A thought crossed his mind and he stiffened. Ilana's sensors picked that up and she automatically defended her position: "Oh, come on, Lance. They could just be being followed. Now they need our help more than ever!" She bounded off, and Lance followed her. "Ilana, please be careful. There _is _more than one reason why they might have been followed by the Mutraddi- it could be an assassin."

Ilana immediately turned on him, and Lance realized he had chosen his words poorly. "Why do you always have to see the negative in things?" she demanded. "You know, the whole world isn't _always _out to get u-"

And she tripped. Again.

But there's a difference between tripping over some threatening shoes and tripping over a Galalunian space pod designed for a humanoid.

Lance caught her arm and pulled her back. They both just stared at the pod, until Lance came to his senses and alerted Octus. "I'll be there shortly."

Ilana finally shook it off, too. "See?!" she exclaimed. "I told you they were from Galaluna!" At this point, though, Lance wasn't as worried about Ilana being disappointed as he was about…

He frowned. "…but where's the-"

And that's when his life's course became truly irreversible.

Because that's when the earth exploded in front of them.

Naturally, Lance's protective instincts took over. He shielded Ilana from the majority of the debris, his armor absorbing the majority of the impact but still sending a jolt through him. Once the explosion was over, he looked up to see what they were facing.

He was not prepared for what he was about to see.

An aerial battle was raging over their heads. Of course, one opponent was to be expected: Mutraddi, of course: an animal (that Octus later told him was number 1,076 in his Mutraddi glossary) with a dozen wings, three large claws, eight eyes to each head (of which it had two), and… what were those? On the underside of its belly were several spikes that looked as if they could be shot out with a large amount of force. The thing, though, was that they weren't large. They were actually extremely small- the only reason that Lance could see them was that his Manus armor enhanced his vision 5,000% (it could magnify more if needed, but at the moment it wasn't necessary). The spikes sent a shiver down his spine. Small, but deadly. Lance thought he might have seen poison coated on the tip of the spikes, but before he could get a better look his eye was caught by a bright flash of color- the other dancer in the aerial ballet in the sky.

It was Galalunian armor. Or, at least he thought so.

The design was definitely Galalunian, but it seemed…"The design is updated from previous Galalunian tech", Octus confirmed, now next to Lance. The armor was a mix between Ilana's Corus armor and Lance's Manus. It had several missiles on it, but they weren't as harsh as Lance's. Another thing- it was _orange, _which was odd- orange wasn't a traditional Galalunian color, but things change. It seemed to lean more toward the feminine side, but even with his upgraded vision, the flash of orange was still barely visible. Its speed was extraordinary- perhaps even more so than Octus. It was helping in the battle, too- orange suit was clearly winning.

The battle seemed to go on forever. The whole time they tried to join in the fight, but they were just too fast. The whole time Lance was watching the battle, he seemed especially drawn to the orange fighter. Their fighting style, even the way they _moved _seemed hauntingly familiar to Lance.

And then the whole situation changed. The monster seemed to notice the others on the ground and focused in on Lance. Some part of his brain realized that Modula or one of his minions must have trained it to attack Lance, to hone in on Manus armor so that the prominent threat would be taken out, obviously not anticipating the orange suit. Some part of his brain was processing that, yes, but there was another part that realized that the monster was headed straight at him. For the first time in his life, he was petrified with fear.

A flash of orange was suddenly in his face. Even though he was behind the orange, he could somehow see everything that was happening. The orange suit jumped in front of him, and fired its missiles at the Mutraddi beast. But they weren't the only one that fired- those spikes on its stomach, coated with poison? Yeah. It fired one, too…

And the spike pierced straight through orange suit's armor.

No, no, no, this couldn't be happening.

Everything appeared as a blur after that. The monster was dead, but that didn't matter, no, that didn't matter. He transformed back to human form somehow, and Lance was filled with a tearing through his heart, an agony so deep that no physical or emotional wound he had ever sustained even neared what he felt now.

This was impossible.

Ilana watched, shocked, unable to believe what she was seeing. The suit of orange killed the monster, but was pierced through its chest. No. She had failed again- yet another one of her people had been hurt, was possibly dead, because she couldn't protect them. She was a failure.

Then she looked at Lance.

He had turned back to human form, and his face shocked her. She had never seen such deep emotion on his face as she did now. _He's in so much pain, _she thought. Just looking at him made her hurt, too. Lance wasn't the only one to convert back to human form, though.

Orange suit was finally revealed.

And Ilana couldn't have been more surprised. Of course, the armor had been slightly feminine, but she would never had expected this.

The orange armor transformed, taking the spike with it. All that left was a body falling into Lance's arms…

And she wasn't even fifteen.

Of course, both Ilana and Octus were shocked. Who was this girl? Where did she come from? And, most of all: _what?!_

Lance, however, kicked into action. He transformed back into his Manus armor and started flying home faster than either of them had ever seen him move. They quickly followed and caught up to him. They all realized in some part of their brains (processer) that they were being extremely obvious, flying through the sky like this, but their other thoughts preoccupied them the most.

They landed in the backyard, and Lance rushed into the house, taking care to hold the girl in his arms carefully. He laid her down lightly on the couch, and as they followed him in, they saw her wound- a single puncture mark through her abdomen. Ilana could only stare- it was bad.

Lance started moving around, as if lost in his thoughts, struggling to stay afloat in a sea of confusion and obvious pain. Ilana snapped out of it. If they were to help, answers were needed. She looked at him cautiously. "Lance?"

He seemed to realize her presence. He looked up at her with those onyx-black eyes, those same eyes that so many times she had found deep, dark, mysterious, and sometimes even beautiful. They were totally different now- the black had bled a deep red, and she could see that Lance was barely sane. He was in a whole world of pain that she couldn't even comprehend. Was this the face of a warrior taken away from his home, to fight for his country, only to come home and find his family dead? What was this pain? She had never known it to exist before anywhere.

His voice betrayed as much pain as his eyes, and for once, he made no effort to conceal anything. "What?"

She studied him sadly, and found she was afraid of his answer. "Who is this?"

The pain grew so intense she felt the need to look away, but she couldn't. Something in his eyes bound her to him, begging her to share his pain, not to make him face it alone. She couldn't leave, and she didn't.

His answer wasn't real to her. Was it possible?

Until she realized it: _was_ possible. And not only was it possible- it was real, and it was happening.

"She's my little sister."

**Mwahahaha! I know, major cliffhanger, and I would continue, but this one took many hours and sleep is important for finals, so…yeah. I also like orange, and it was the only color that I liked that seemed as if it wouldn't clash with the rest of Titan. Also, big thanks to A Necessary Production- my glee face was totally plastered on for the remainder of the day :D! So, yeah. Please comment, guys, it really helps the update process. To be continued… **


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**So, I'm updating this faster than usual- about 12 hours after the last chapter. Why, you ask? Well, it is true that there are finals this week. Actually, I'm in one now. The thing is, when your heath teacher gives you a simple ten question final, it doesn't exactly fill the time of two hours and five minutes. Luckily for us, he's super nice and lets us do whatever we want after a test, so I chose to bring my laptop and type this next chapter while listening to Gangnam style. Read on, my friends. Read on. And, of course, review…**

Chapter 4

The words 'little sister' rang in Ilana's head.

Whoa. Wait, _what?!_

Lance, an older brother. _Wow, _thought Ilana. _I wonder what that would be like. _And she thought he was protective with _her. _Imagine being his little sister…

She snapped back to reality when she saw he was crying.

This had never happened before. Even when Solomon had kidnapped them and held them at the G3 headquarters, where that disgusting man had thrashed Lance around in that dark room, he hadn't shed a tear. He was always strong. _Strong for me_, Ilana thought. She saw none of that now; he was hiding nothing. He couldn't. His sister might have been the one that was pierced with the poison spike, she thought, but that was nothing compared to the pain that was raging through him now.

She could feel it in him.

He was standing over where he had laid her down on the couch. His face was down, his long hair covering his face. Every once in a while, a sparkling tear would escape from his chin and would fall on the wounded little girl bleeding onto their sofa.

She had to do something- she couldn't bear to see him in so much pain. But what? Words wouldn't help- she knew that. Could anything help, really? She didn't know, but she had to try. She walked over to him silently, and placed her hand on his back. It was supposed to be comforting.

It only made him sob harder.

That's when Octus broke in. Ilana had forgotten he was there. "Her vital signs are dropping. We need to do something." Lance's head snapped up. He could control himself for his sister, now- he had to. His voice concealed most of the pain, and the pain that did bleed through was overridden by the demanding tone in his voice- the voice of a corporal who had a wounded soldier. "We need to get her to the hospital, _now_."

Octus shook his head. "You know we can't do that, Lance. General Steel is keeping too close of an eye on us to register in anything more public than high school. If he sees that we've checked into a hospital, he'll go berserk. We can't take that chance and jeopardize our cover."

Lance made a sound in the back of his throat. It might have been a growl, it might have been a wail. Ilana wasn't sure. But she did hear one thing for certain- the pain was in it. He turned to Octus. He didn't shout; his whisper was much worse. "Do you not _understand? _She's my _sister, _dammit! My _little sister_! I have to help her!"

Ilana hated herself for what she was about to say. "He's right, Lance- it's too risky." In that moment she despised herself entirely. Her she was, yet again, putting her own selfish needs above those of the people she had vowed to protect. What kind of princess _was_ she?

He looked at her and she caught her breath. It wasn't hatred. No, it was much worse than that.

It was forgiveness.

He forgave her if anything happened to his sister- she knew it. He was trying to tell her without words not to blame herself, that it wasn't her fault. And that was the worst part. Because she knew he was shouldering all the guilt by himself. And that wasn't right.

For an instant, just and instant, Ilana hated the girl on their couch. What had she done? She'd come into the world they had just been getting used to and flipped it upside down. She had ruined their couch. She had come into their world. She hated her for that. But most of all, she hated her because she was causing Lance all his pain.

And then she followed Lance. She forgave his sister.

There was no reason to hold anything against her. _The way he looks at her, he must really love her, _she thought. It almost made her jealous, but there was no room for feelings like that here. Hating her would be hating Lance, and she knew in her heart that even if she tried, she would never be able to hate him.

His look didn't last long. Before long he was turned back to his sister, the tears once again streaming down his face. He took his hand and stroked her face with a mixture of extreme love and agony, taking in everything. His hand ended up cradling her head, pulling her hair out of her eyes. Her hair was rough, as if she hadn't showered in a while.

"I do have a vast expanse of medical knowledge, Lance. I could try to help her, otherwise we don't really have any other choice", Octus said quietly. Lance nodded without looking away from her face. Octus came to her other side by the sofa and started producing a variety of medicines, needles, and bandages from thin air.

Ilana knew what Lance needed now. Just two hours ago she would've denied it. He was always so strong, it only made sense that he would've been better with a slap in the face and a "pull yourself together". But this wasn't the army, and right now all of his strength had been drained out of him.

So instead of a slap, Ilana embraced him.

She thought he would push her away. She thought he would protest and say that he was fine. She thought he might even snap at her like a child. What she didn't anticipate, however…

…was Lance leaning back into her.

Under any other circumstances, this would have elevated her heart rate through the roof. However, these circumstances were anything but normal, and Ilana wrapped her arms around him as he did the same, sobbing into her shoulder. She could feel his body convulsing with tears, and his pain transferred through to her. She helped him through it, and they both cried into each other. At that moment they were two playing cards supporting a car- they needed each other to keep going on. "You really loved her, didn't you?" she murmured through tears. He looked down at her, his eyes tinged a quiet, blood red. "Please, Ilana. Don't talk about her as if she's already dead."

Ilana's heart broke, but she was careful not to let her face show it. All she could think was, _poor Lance. _She couldn't let him know she pitied him in that moment- he would break.

Octus alerted them. "There's something wrong."

Immediately, Lance broke away from Ilana. She felt lonely when he left, and if it were permanent. Even though she knew it wasn't true, she wanted to be back in his arms, and him in hers.

Lance kneeled at his sister's side on the couch. He looked at Octus, and his eyes betrayed him once more. He was petrified. "What's wrong?" He tried to keep his voice calm, but he wasn't fooling anyone.

Octus' arms flew over her body, trying to fix her. "There was a poison on the end of the spike that she was punctured with. The poison must be targeting her life-sustaining systems, because her metabolism is shutting down completely." Her face was twitching as if she was having a nightmare, and sweat popped up in beads on her face.

Lance's face turned sheet white. There was something inside his little sister's body, and it was killing her. "No…." his voice was a whisper. Ilana saw his face, and it was a mirror of his eyes once again- torture written all over, drowning in pain. "Save her, Octus!"

"I'm trying, Lance. I'm doing all I can, but I can only work from the outside. We can only hope the medicine does the rest of the work on the inside." Octus had bandaged up her abdomen, where she the spike had gone straight through. The area of entry was small, no more than an inch in diameter, but that could still do a great deal of damage to someone's body. Ilana thought back to health class, and didn't remember anything important being in that part of the abdomen, except fat and… Ilana's heart fell. Would Lance's sister ever be able to have children?

Lance mumbled something unintelligible to his sister. Ilana couldn't make it out, but she thought it might have been, "don't leave me again."

_Again? What's happening? _Ilana's mind was a flurry of thoughts.

He said something else, and Ilana could just hear him this time. "Please…"

**Drama, drama, I know. I'm in band now, finishing this up. Everyone around her is trying to read it, I've had to move twice…but you don't care about my problems! So, cliffhanger, but there might be the next chapter up tonight. Math final is tomorrow, though, have to study for that… REVIEW. REVIEW. And, of course, REVIEW. Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**My brain is so dead right now. I'm slowly reviving it with Muse. I had my math final earlier today, and I surprised myself- B+, and I maintained my A, yay! That's pretty good, considering I only got about five hours of sleep… and thanks especially to A Necessary Production for the advice (and, of course, the awesome review- that made my day XD)! Thank goodness it's the weekend… Anyway, enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW! I know a lot of you are reading this and thinking, "yeah, whatever", but it only takes two seconds at the bottom- just type the review and hit "send"- nothing to it. I've checked the traffic on this story, and over all there have been about fifty people who read at least one chapter. I have, like, six reviews right now, which I am very grateful for, but guys…that's 3/25. Or, roughly estimated, about 1/5. Pleeeaaassseee it takes several hours to write one of these, it takes two minutes or less to review… ANYWAY, enjoy (and review)!**

Chapter 5

Ilana peeked into the living room.

He was there, of course. Where else would he be? Just as he had been here for the past five hours, and just as he would most certainly be here for the next five, he was here now, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to his sister. He was still staring off into space, just as he had been since the last time she checked on him… she checked her watch. Two minutes ago. She couldn't help it, she was worried. Within the course of three hours, he had experienced so much, one after another. Of course, they all had, but with him, it was different. It all seemed blurred and at the same time clearer than anything she had ever experienced. Quick: alien visitor, from Galaluna, monster following, don't forget, don't forget. Monster fighting Galalunian, they can't help, it sees them, it heads towards Lance. Can't fast-forward, watch in silence in your head- the orange suit jumps in front of Lance, monster is killed, the orange is pierced. But, no, no, it's not the orange anymore- a small girl, a young girl, falling into Lance's arms. Lance, in pain, so much pain, all on his face. In living room now, she's dying, they're crying, she's getting worse. And then…

Ilana blinked. _How odd, my thoughts are all discombobulated, _she thought. They had been reading _Fahrenheit 451 _in class, and Bradbury's style seemed to be rubbing off on her. She walked over and sat down on the floor next to Lance. The sofa had been moved closer to the fireplace, which was turned on. At first Lance had objected to this: she had seemed hot enough already, a thin sheen of sweat covering her face. Octus, however, had insisted it was necessary for her to heal, so Lance had grudgingly agreed.

She looked at him again. He was absent-mindedly stroking his sister's hand in his, needing to feel the warmth of their skin together. It appeared to be the only thing keeping him from detaching from his body completely at this point. She thought back just a couple of hours, when they thought they'd lose her…

"_Please", she heard him whisper. _

_And the funniest thing happened- the wounded little girl seemed to hear him. Octus reported immediately that the drugs seemed to be taking effect, but Ilana knew better. It seemed as if his sister was making a statement: _well, I suppose if you use the magic word, I can't resist. _At that moment, though, it had been hard to think of her making a joke. At the worst point, her face was constantly spasming, sweat dripping down her face in rivulets. Her blood flow had increased, and Octus was constantly working to change the bandages. It had gradually gotten better, but at such a painfully slow rate that it really didn't seem as if anything really was. But, of course, it had, and the relief on Lance's face was obvious. He cried again- but these tears contained none of the earlier pain. Of course, he was still extremely worried about her and wouldn't leave her side (with the exception of relieving himself). But, no, these tears were full of something else. Not quite joy, exactly. Those tears would come in time- these tears were tears of relief. Relief and love for a second chance at something that's power is greater than your own…_

Ilana smiled gently. Her heart ached pleasantly to see him so passionate about something that had so much life. _Such deep emotions for someone you love is a wonderful thing_, Ilana thought, unconsciously glancing once again at Lance. She felt herself blush for no particular reason other than looking at his face and those far-off eyes.

_Octus didn't know when she would wake up. He had told them that at the beginning, once the bleeding had slowed down. The bandages only needed changing about every half hour now. Lance had looked up, but he wasn't looking at them. He was looking far away, his eyes going through them. For a second he focused on them and managed to mumble a "thanks", but he was gone again before they could respond. Ilana and Octus had given him some space, but once they were in the hallway upstairs, Octus had turned to her. "I am going to go through some files and see if there is anything on Lance's sister. I've got one so far, but it's only her birth certificate. I'll be doing it on my way to the pod. She had to have brought some things, and I am going to try to retrieve them before Solomon and G3 gets there. Her vitals are normal, and it'll only take a second. If she starts bleeding again, there's some bandages next to the couch. You and Lance know what to do."_

_Ilana agreed and told him to be safe. He had been, of course- he had come back with only the main Galalunian tech from the pod (all of it in one compactible circuit) and a bag that must have been Lance's sister's. _

Ilana thought of ways to bring Lance back. Should she crack a joke? _No, of course not. _She shut down the idea immediately- that was definitely not appropriate at this time. Looking at him again, she wondered if she _should _bring him out of his reverie.

She looked at the girl on the couch, and then looked at Lance. She smiled softly, and looked back at the girl. "She looks like you ", she whispered. She could feel Lance's gaze shift to her, and she flushed slightly. Apparently he hadn't been as far away as she had originally thought…

He looked at her and frowned. "I don't see it…" Ilana hadn't lied, though. They _did _look alike, but not in the way that most people did. They weren't the same in the twin sense- not the same features or tones, to be exact, but you could see each other in them. His sister wasn't exactly _petite, _per se_, _but she definitely wasn't large, either. She had a small frame, but regular body mass. _No ridiculous diets like the cheerleaders here just to look skinny, _Ilana thought. There was hardly any fat, though- mostly muscle. Not all ripped like Lance or anything, but…toned? Ilana couldn't quite describe it. Perhaps a swimmer's build. She had a nice figure, too- perfect proportions. Her waist didn't blow out like Barb's (Ilana didn't even know how that was possible)- they slimmed out perfectly. She also had slim but toned legs- like a runner. They weren't smooth, though- and her feet could definitely use a pedicure. _Make that a mani-pedi_, thought Ilana. Both her hands and her feet had a graceful and sturdy build, so it wasn't the shape. Her nails were cracked and dirty, just as Ilana's had looked shortly after their arrival at Sherman. _She looks like she's been through a war_. Then the reality hit her- she had. Lance's sister had come from Galaluna, where the war was raging. Ilana forced herself to concentrate on more of the girl's features. Her arms were sturdy but feminine, and her neck was gracefully slim. She was wearing a necklace that Ilana couldn't see, as it disappeared under her shirt. Basically, her whole body was perfectly built for a woman in combat, without forgetting either component.

Then Ilana came upon her face, and felt a twinge of jealousy. Despite the fact that it was caked with blood, sweat, and dirt (Lance had wiped off the Mutraddi guts carefully), she was still beautiful. With a perfect complexion, a pretty nose, perfect eye shape, feminine lips, and only a few freckles dotting her cheeks, she kind of gave Ilana inferiority complex for a moment. Looking at her hair, Ilana was mesmerized. Even grimy from her trans-galaxy trip, her hair was beautiful. It was cropped short (shorter than Lance's), but not a pixie cut. Even though there was only a little of it, it seemed to dance in the firelight. Somehow, she had inherited a beautiful, glimmering red hair that had light streaks of blonder shades as well as a little brunette thrown in there. The most beautiful part, though, were the amber streaks in her hair that made it take the flame from the fireplace and create its own hearth around her head. Ilana remembered that there had recently been a lot of talk at Sherman High about a series- "The Hungry Games"? Something like that, and if Ilana hadn't known that Lance's sister had only just entered this galaxy, she could have sworn that the "girl on fire" in it that she had heard about was modeled after her hair.

"What? No", Ilana joked. "I thought you would have seen it in the hair for sure." Lance looked at her and smirked. "So, you're finally getting the hang of sarcasm." Ilana shrugged and looked back at his sister. "What's she like?" She asked softly.

His face fell. "I honestly don't know. It's been so long." Ilana looked at him softly, a tinge of sadness in her eyes. "How long?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

The pain flashed back to his face. He looked at her, and she could see that it hurt him to remember.

But he did so anyway…

His first words caught her attention. "When my mother died…" Neither of them had ever talked of their mothers- it was a touchy subject for the both of them. Lance hesitated. "When she died, it was a bad time for my family. My dad became more and more absorbed in his work, trying to block out the pain. She and I didn't have that option. We relied on each other for support. A couple of months before mom passed away, I had been complaining about how I didn't want to share a room anymore. Our house was fairly small- dad hadn't moved up in the science world yet, and his pay was just enough to keep us afloat. After I had been nagging them for a couple of months, they finally did some home renovation and managed to convert the walk- in closet into what would become my new bedroom." He chuckled sadly, a gleam of nostalgia in his eyes. "I remember them moving all of their clothes into the closet in our study. But then, when she died, I moved back in with my sister. All of mom's stuff was moved into my old bedroom. At nights, we would quietly move the beds together and talk about mom. Sometimes one of us would close our eyes and the other would recount a story that she used to tell us, and for just a moment mom was alive again. We'd talk about her cooking, and the spotted shirt that she loved so much but looked terrible in, and all of her little quirks that we had never noticed before but found we missed. The way she would tuck our hair behind our ears or how she always insisted that we made our beds or how she tucked us in at night, or even just how she was always there for us. Some nights we didn't talk about her at all. We just cried together, and whether dad heard his six year old son and four year old daughter crying alone at night, I we never knew. We always moved the beds back in the morning." Lance chuckled once more. "It made us pretty buff."

Some part of Ilana's brain registered their ages- six and four, Lance was two years older than his sister- so she was fourteen now. Mostly, though, she was concentrating on his story. Her eyes started watering up as he continued. "By now, dad had been promoted numerous times. He would come home around two, and we would be done by then. We would sleep for about three hours and wake up when he came home. He might have missed mom, but he still loved us very much- we would gather around the table, sometimes with cookies and milk, and talk about our days. We still had a chance at happiness then." Lance's eyes were far away now, eating cookies and drinking milk with his family, remembering times full of opportunity.

She didn't want to break him out of his reverie. He looked almost at peace, but she needed him to finish. "What happened?"

He came back to her, his memories back in his mind. The look on his face told her that the next events were dark and lonely. "One day dad wanted me to come with him to work. He had great expectations of me to follow in his footsteps as a great scientific mind of Galaluna. I didn't particularly want to go- she would be left all alone, which I had promised never to do. Dad, however, was adamant, and when she told me to go, what could I do? When I asked dad if she could come, he just looked at me and said, 'I don't think so, son.' I never understood that, until I grew up and realized that he had wanted a second son instead of a daughter." Ilana could tell by the look in his eyes that this made his blood boil. She felt rather indignant, too- what was wrong with girls? "Right as we were leaving, she called out to me. She said, 'Have fun with dad, Lance!' For no reason whatsoever, right then something inside me snapped. I must have been in an extremely bad mood, or perhaps the crying at night hadn't been enough, because right there what I did was inexcusable. I spun and faced her, and shouted: ''Have fun with dad?' What's that supposed to mean? Don't you even remember mom?!' In that instant, I realized what I had said when I looked at her face. Her expression was shocked and full of pain. Her big brother, who she admitted was her hero, had just accused her of not missing their dead mother. I can't even imagine how deep that must have cut. Her eyes were torture." Lance's voice was thick with guilt, and Ilana identified shame on his face. "I turned and ran, willing myself not to cry. Dad caught up to me and slowed me to a walk. I resolved to apologize to her when we got home."

"I never got the chance."

"All day, dad went around and showed me all about his work- the particle fuser, the atom splicer, and the quantum-entanglement generator. I was pretty geeky at the time, and loved it all. I forgot all about our little feud while I was there, but recalled it as we were walking home. I dreaded apologizing to her. I braced myself and swallowed my pride. Then we came over the hill and the house came into view."

"I hadn't braced myself for the right thing. Oh, she was there, all right. But she wasn't sad or angry. She was deathly afraid…" Lance's face reflected the terror he was recalling, and something told Ilana that whatever had happened he blamed on himself. Now, though, Ilana pressed him for reasons other than her own curiosity. She could see that this had been eating away at him since it had happened ten years ago. "Of?" she asked.

He looked at her, his eyes now dead. "The men holding a gun to her head."

Ilana felt a cold creeping through her body. Despite the fact that Lance's sister had obviously survived, she couldn't even imagine what the four- year old must have been going through.

Lance summed it up for her. "Dad and I started running towards her. I outpaced him, and was about twenty feet away before they stopped us. The only reason I stopped running…was because…because they flipped the safety catch off of the gun. No words needed- I could hear the click from where I was standing. I took one step closer and she would die. By this time, she had seen me as well. Her face went from terrified to complete calm. She hid her fear inside to be strong for me, and told me without speaking that it would all be fine. I could see that she had gotten in many good hits- the bandits' faces were all bruised, and they were both of the men were walking funny, slightly bent over their groins. Before I could stop them, the two bandits got into a pod and left, taking my sister and all our valuables, leaving the door broken on its hinges. I've never forgotten their faces."

Ilana found she was staring open-mouthed at the fourteen year-old girl on their sofa. _She's been through hell,_ she thought. She looked at Lance. "Didn't the bandits send a ransom note?"

Lance's face hardened with a hatred so deep, Ilana flinched. "They did. Of course, I didn't know that until I inherited a small amount of dad's things after he died. I found it buried among mom's old things. Dad had always told me, though, that the bandits had never sent one. He said we should just forget about her and move on. He said that grieving wouldn't bring her back. He would scold me if he found me crying for her, and not knowing any better, I eventually listened to him and moved on. I never stopped thinking about her, though, not even when we came here, to Earth. That was the one thing I never forgave him for, was that ransom note."

"Was it too expensive?" Ilana asked.

Lance looked at her, the hatred burning brighter. "My dad made $500,000 a year. The ransom note asked for only $1,000. That's less than one day's work. No, he didn't want a girl in the family. He considered her a burden."

Ilana was infuriated. Despite the fact that this had occurred over ten years ago, her fury was fresh. What kind of a father had Edward _been_? Ilana hated to think so, but no matter how much Lance had loved his father, perhaps he was better off without him.

"I never saw her again. Of course, with my last image of her being that of a gun pointed at her head, and a ransom note that I can only assume was never paid, what else could I think but that she was dead?"

Lance looked at his sister, and his hatred softened. Ilana marveled at how just looking at her made him soften. "Of course, now that I know she's alive, maybe I can finally start to forgive him."

He pulled a piece of paper out of his breast pocket and looked at in the glow of the firelight. He smiled and handed it to Ilana, who was gazing at it curiously. "This was all I had left of her until a couple of hours ago, except the memories, of course."

Ilana studied the picture. It was in crayon (or, at least, the Galalunian equivalent of one), and it showed two small children holding hands and smiling. The one on the right was a small boy with a blue suit, long black hair, and dark eyes. He was holding hands with the girl on the left, who had light freckles, maroon hair, and blue eyes. The drawing was covered in a homemade lamination- tape covering every inch. There were deep creases where it had been folded and unfolded over the course of many years, but it had obviously been taken care of very well. Above the joined hands of the children was a heart, big and red. Ilana turned the paper over. She felt her face mirror Lance's smile, and her eyes glistened. With a big fat purple crayon, a child's handwriting read: '2 my big bruthur, my heerow. I luv u. *heart*, Littul Sis'. Ilana felt her eyes grow even wetter. She handed the paper back to Lance, and she saw that he had shed a single tear. Some part of her felt surprised that he had any left.

His voice was broken now, cracked with emotion. "That was the one thing I could never forgive myself for, though. Yelling at her- I could manage to justify just about everything in my life except for that."

He fell silent. After a long time, he whispered, "And now she's sacrificed herself for me." Ilana was momentarily confused, and then remembered- the Mutraddi monster. It had been headed straight for Lance, perhaps programmed by whoever had invaded Galaluna to target Manus armor. Instead of the Manus, though, it had gotten his sister. She had sacrificed herself for him.

Ilana looked at him sadly. "You know, that's not your fault", she whispered in his ear, leaning in. "You tried to help her fight. And Octus says she'll be fine."

Lance looked at her gratefully, and she realized that she had given him what he needed- consolation that this really _wasn't _his fault, that _he _wasn't the one to blame.

Ilana looked at his sister with soft eyes. "What's her name?"

Lance looked over at her once more. Their faces were close now, from her whispering in his ear- she could smell his breath on her face, and could see how tired he was. In his eyes were a variety of emotions- hope, sadness, pain. But mostly love was present in his eyes, and in his voice, too, as he answered:

"Amy."

Ilana woke up and found herself in Lance's lap.

She looked up and found his head on the couch, his fingers still intertwined with Amy's. He was snoring slightly, and Ilana gave a small smile at this- the big, scary corporal snored in his sleep. She tried to recall the past events- they had talked some more, cried a little, and then (apparently) passed out on each other. Lance's other arm was wrapped around Ilana, making her feel all warm and fuzzy (not that his arm provided much heat). She really didn't want to move, just wanted to go back to sleep, but her neck was on his shoulder in an uncomfortable position. She tried to move it slightly, but Lance being the light sleeper he was, automatically woke up tensed and ready for a fight.

To find himself cuddling with the princess of Galaluna.

He removed himself immediately, missing the sad look that crossed her face when he did so. Blushing furiously, he rearranged himself in front of the couch.

They tried to pretend it had never happened (despite the fact that they were both replaying it in their minds), but that's kind of hard to do when your robot can't take a hint and says, "So, you guys are finally up."

They swiveled to find Octus in a chair in front of the fireplace, with a…wait, was that a smirk on his face?

"I've been over all the data for files regarding your sister, Lance, but haven't found anything. I'm checking again for the third time, but I doubt I'll find anything new." Octus regarded Lance cautiously. "I know she's your sister, Lance. You're absolutely positive that she can be trusted?"

"Yes." Ilana was surprised by his simple reply. No tensing, no getting defensive. Just an answer. _He must be pretty tired_, Ilana thought. _He should have slept in ;)…_

Amy's bandages were clean- Octus must have changed them while they were sleeping. She thought she heard him snickering in her dreams, but robots don't snicker…

Meanwhile, Lance was reflecting on the day's events. So much to process… he was amazed he hadn't snapped at them yet. He was so tired…

He remembered one thing before passing out with Ilana in his arms- she had told him that Amy was pretty name. He had smiled and agreed, and then proceeded to lose consciousness.

How hopeless.

Octus went upstairs to get a better signal for the research. Ilana glanced over at Lance, making a mental note of how cute his eyebrows were when he was worried. They scrunched up like the furry caterpillars she had seen here on Earth. Once she was thinking about caterpillars, though, of course she couldn't stop herself from thinking of butterflies. She looked at Lance and then at Amy, wondering what metamorphosis his sister would inspire in the corporal. They had both lived lives in hell… though Ilana liked to think that being on Earth with her hadn't been that bad.

She could tell by looking at his face that he was still beating himself up for the blow that he should've received. Ilana realized that, within the past couple of hours (based on how long they had been asleep), she had probably learned more about him and how to read him than during the whole year they had been on Earth. She sighed. "Pardon my French, but tonight sure has been crappy."

Lance looked at her with alternating amounts of surprise and amusement, but she didn't really care. It was true. She looked out the window, where the sun was rising. The tints of orange, yellow, pink, and blood red hues painted a mosaic in their living room. "But, of course, dawn will always come- a new beginning." Ilana looked at Lance, putting everything into her eyes and voice. "And new beginnings mean forgiving yourself for things that aren't your fault."

All at once, the agony was back. He turned around and looked at her with those tortured eyes that she thought had left, releasing his hand from Amy's. "With all due respect, princess, you just don't understand. I lost Amy once, and now I almost lost her again because of my incompetence. Some big brother, some _hero _I am. How will I ever face her when she wakes up?"

A chuckle. "Perhaps you could turn around", replied a voice from the sofa.

**ERMEHGERD that took SO FRICKING LONG. I started this Friday and as of now it's two am Sunday morning. 8 pages in Word, and I could feel some of you getting antsy. Well, better late than never. I can't promise to update on a regular basis, but of course I'll try. Dad got back from his trip tonight, so we had some bonding time 3. Sorry if certain words are repeated a lot, there are only so many synonyms for 'pain'. PLEASE REVIEW GUYS I SPENT SIX HOURS ON THIS ONE. SERIOUSLY. TAKES TWO MINUTES TO REVIEW… I'd go into more details about my life, but no one really cares ;. I give an internet cookie to anyone whose name is Amy, you rule… Thanks again to all those who review. I always eagerly anticipate your feedback. Going to bed now, goodnight…**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise**_**.**

**Hey, so I know that the last chapter was kind of depressing. Sorry about that, but it was necessary for the backstory to be in it for future chapters. I plan this chapter to be happier, considering she's now conscious. Ugh, I can't believe the 49ers lost by 3 points… and what about that blackout, huh? Eh, never mind… anyway, as always, REVIEW. Please. Enjoy, and have a good day ****. **

Chapter 6

Lance spun to face his sister.

She was sitting upright on the couch, smiling at him. His heart skipped a beat. It had been so long since he had seen that smile, ten years now. She had so much of their mother of her. That warm, loving smile, with those light blue eyes that always made him feel like a schoolboy again, a boyish grin spreading across his face as the tears of joy finally came.

Their eyes locked, and suddenly she was back in his life again, and the tears flowed harder, his vision blurring. His little sister, he loved her so much… She was truly more than he deserved, but now that he had her back, there was no way he was going to let her go.

He fell to the ground on his knees in front of Amy and embraced her, careful about her wound. They wrapped their arms around each other, taking comfort in each other's presence, and suddenly they were back in their rooms again, crying into each other. Except, of course, these were tears of joy, and no one had been lost- only a person found…and they weren't alone.

Amy's eyes widened when she saw Ilana. Immediately she was on one knee, her head bowed. "Princess, it is an honor", she said.

Ilana looked at her in surprise. It had been a while since anyone had greeted her in this way, and it no longer felt correct. She blushed and said, "Oh, no, please rise. I am not a princess here on Earth. I am simply Ilana."

Amy looked up at Ilana with respect and reverence. "You shall always be my princess…Ilana". Amy tried to rise as she had been instructed but winced and looked down. She caught sight of the blood soaking through her bandages. "What the hell…?" she muttered, and her eyes became cloudy.

Lance steadied her, his eyes once again worried. "Please don't overexert yourself, Amy. The only reason you aren't in extreme pain right now is that Octus gave you some pain-killing drugs." And, as if on cue, Octus came rushing down the steps as Lance helped his sister lay back down on the sofa.

"Hey, guys, her vitals are returning to norma-" Octus cut off as soon as he saw that they already knew. He walked over to her side. "Hello, Amy."

"Hello, Octus", Amy said calmly to the transparent robot standing before her. She frowned and looked down at Lance, who had started pulling up the bottom of his shirt. "What the hell, Lance?" She looked at him with a mixture of amusement, disturbance, and confusion…but mostly disturbance.

Lance flushed slightly and replied, "Your bandages need changing…" Amy looked at him, the amusement growing. "I think I can handle tha-" Her eyes widened as she looked down and saw what the bandages had been hiding. A hole straight through her abdomen, and blood streaming out.

Lance looked at her, concerned. _I hope she doesn't puke,_ he thought. Back when they were children, she had been the most squeamish little thing… but apparently not anymore. Her eyes returned to their normal size, and she looked calmly at the gap in her flesh. "Oh, right. That."

Lance continued changing her bandages, despite the slight look of annoyance that crossed his sister's face when she was told only to hold the roll of gauze. Soon he was done, and he stood back up as she slowly sat up once again on the couch. He tried to protest, but she gave him a look that said _don't be stupid_, and he shut up.

They were all silent for a moment. Okay, she was awake. Now what?

Amy was the one to break the silence. She looked at Octus and said, "Could you please register me at Sherman High? Might as well say I'm another sister of Lance and Ilana's. Put down that I moved from China from studying abroad, since I'm fluent in Chinese. You can just fabricate the transfer papers. Monday's a school day, and there's no way I'm staying at home."

Lance and Ilana gaped at her, and Octus didn't reply. "How do you know Octus' name? And how do you know about Sherman High? Exactly how much _do _you know?" asked Ilana, addressing Amy with a look of complete bewilderment. And, after a short pause: "And _why _do you know Chinese?"

Amy chuckled and looked at the group. "I know Chinese because, as soon as I learned I was coming to Earth, I looked up the population. China has the highest population on Earth, so I figured the majority of people would speak Chinese. I learned some others too, but Galaluna already speaks Galalunian (which the people here call English). I know about Sherman high because that was the school in which people your age go to in Sherman, and Sherman was the closest town to the coordinates of where your pod reported landing. I know a lot about Earth. I had a lot of time to study, unlike you guys, who were dropped here last-second. That, and he was in the information regarding you guys in that pod I caught on my way here, as well as you two."

They continued gaping at her as Octus fabricated the transfer papers for Sherman. Lance looked at her with amazed eyes. "Wait a second- you _knew _you were coming here? What exactly happened, anyway? You just mysteriously showed up with a Mutraddi following you." Lance winced slightly when he recalled the disastrous results of that particular battle.

Amy frowned slightly. "Yeah, that Mutraddi number 1,076 was a real pain in the ass." Amy looked over at Ilana apologetically. "I apologize, princess, but I tend to have foul language when I'm extremely tired. I can't seem to help it, though I try. Anyway", Amy continued, "As you can probably guess, it followed me through the rift gate from Galaluna. Sort of."

"Sort of?" They looked at her skeptically. Amy sighed. "Well, it's a long story, but I suppose I'll have to tell it at some time, anyway. If I pass out, just slap me. I should wake back up."

Octus settled down in the armchair, and Ilana and Lance both sat down next to her on the couch. They seemed to sense the story was a lengthy one, and so it was.

However, there was something that needed to be cleared up first.

Amy looked at them. "Before I get into this, you should know who exactly who invaded Galaluna." They blinked, and realized that they really _didn't _know. Amy looked at Lance with slight concern as she told them- this would be hard on him. Lance, not one to be kept waiting, looked at her impatiently. He wanted to know who he had to blame for this. Ilana was especially antsy, looking for a name to the person who had disrupted her life in such a violent way. Octus remained silent. "Well?"

She took a deep breath. "Modula."

That one word showed its effect on Lance's face. Bewildered, he said: "But that's impossible! He died on Mutrad!"

Amy shook her head sadly. "That's what everyone thought. Obviously, though, he didn't, and he's back for revenge with a new ability to control the Mutraddi."

Lance was furious. Amy had been afraid of this. "That bastard! The son of a bitch! I looked up to him! He was my hero-!" Lance stopped when he saw Ilana's terrified face. He took her hand. "Ilana, what's the matter?"

Amy answered for the petrified princess. "The first person Modula would have gone after upon his return would have been the King. He had been the leader on that disastrous mission, and so in 'deserting' Modula, would be the main target." Amy looked at Ilana reassuringly and took her other hand. "Don't worry, princess. Your father lives on. He had been captured for a period of time, and during that time was pressed for information. Regardless, a rescue mission had been led by the General and both he and the palace were liberated."

Ilana's happiness was plain on her face, and tears of relief spilled over. "General? You mean Collins? He was always an excellent soldier."

"Um, well, no", replied Amy sadly. "Unfortunately, he was killed earlier on in the war."

Ilana looked at her with confusion. "Then, who?"

Amy was clearly uncomfortable. "It isn't really relevant."

Ilana was now suspicious. "Why not? I am the princess. Please tell me." It was not a direct order, but it was obviously meant to act as one- the only difference was that she had said 'please'.

Amy sighed. Finally, she answered the question. "I suppose that would be me."

This threw them all off. Of course, Lance was an excellent soldier, and it was no surprise that it ran in their blood. But this was a first. For many, many reasons.

The young girl read this on their faces. "Many traditions change in the face of war," she said quietly. "Women are found just as capable as men, and age is ignored in place of skill."

This they could believe, though it would take a while to fully wrap their heads around the idea that this fourteen-year old girl sitting in front of them was basically in charge of the entire Galalunian Royal Guard (along with the King, of course). This irked Lance slightly. No matter how much he loved her, it still stung slightly that his younger sister was of a higher military rank than he was. _I guess I answer to her now_, he thought.

He snorted with laughter, and Ilana looked at him as if he had gone insane. _Considering recent events, it's not a far stretch, _he realized. He looked at Ilana, and explained: "I just compared Amy to Steel."

Ilana giggled, too, and even Octus made a sound that might have been laughter. They all gave Amy a look that said, _one day you'll understand, and then wish you hadn't. _

Amy shook it off. "Oh, by the way, Lance, the King said that once you get back, seeing as Earth hadn't made you…flabby *chuckle*, there was a good chance you would receive a promotion."

This perked him up. "To?"

Amy smiled. "Without actually having assessed your skills for so long, the highest he would be able to do would be Major…however, by proving yourself, you _could _work your way up to Lieutenant General. But, of course, you would still answer to me." Despite his sister's joking tone in the last part of this statement, Lance was ecstatic. In the middle of his excitement and Ilana's pressing questions about her father, Amy just jumped right into her story, and they became quiet as her journey to Earth unfolded before them…

_She entered the war hall and the King was waiting for her. _

_He hadn't explained in his message what the meeting had been about. Fearing the Mutraddi had pushed forward another surge of monsters, she had rushed here and burst through the doors. In retrospect, however, the message hadn't been urgent, and seeing as the rest of the war officials weren't here…_

_He turned to face her. _

_She hadn't expected the look on his face. Panicked, maybe. Weary, exhausted of war, stressed. All of the things that had been there just a few hours ago when they had packed up for the night. _

_Crashing through the doors at two thirty-four in the morning, she hadn't expected his face to be so…excited. _

_She walked over to him cautiously. "What is it, my king? Is something the matter?" She must have appeared to be quite a mess, she assumed- a hasty ponytail, dressed in crumpled war meeting attire… she realized her boots were on the wrong feet. She blushed and fixed them as the King responded. _

_Just one word. _

"_Amy." _

_She looked at the King from fixing her boots. She was starting to become seriously concerned. She had only been with him for about a year now, but knew him better than anyone save Modula, and he was the enemy. Everyone else who had known him better was now dead. Except for his daughter… if she was still alive. _

"_Are you feeling all right, your majesty?" Amy asked him as she walked toward him. _

"_Oh, yes, Amy. There is no need to worry about that- I have actually just realized something." _

_Amy's blood ran cold for a moment. "Your majesty, with all due respect, please don't tell me you're considering Major Lewis' plan, it's absolutely absurd! It's a suicide missio-" The King stopped her mid-sentence with an impatiient wave of his hand. "Of course not, you're right when you say it's crazy. But I called you here for another reason." He frowned. "And, please, Amy. It's just you and I right now, you can drop the formal titles. My name is John, and I prefer it to 'your majesty', 'your grace', or 'my king'."_

_Amy looked at him. "Very well, John. What did you call me here for? We only got out of the meeting three hours ago…"_

_John looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, but I just can't take it anymore." He started pacing as he usually did, and the once majestic white marble was now worn out from this constant habit. He looked up at her with the eyes of a madman, and for a second Amy thought that maybe he _had _gone insane. "I know that it might compromise her position, but I have to know if she's alright. It's driving me insane! I've developed a pod that can pinpoint her location without the Mutraddi being able to track it. You leave one week from tomorrow." _

_Had Amy not known him as long as she had and well as she did, she would have been left standing bewildered in the meeting of the war hall. But she _had_, and she _did_, and so her eyes widened slightly as she stated his orders back to him. "You're sending me to Earth to protect the princess."_

_The King nodded. _

_Amy looked at him. "John, are you sure you want to do this? Not to be conceited or anything, but I'm your best tactician and trainer. Do you think it's wise for the future of the war to send me away from where I'm needed? I'm not sure I'm qualified, and I'm sure that the soldier you initially sent is protecting Princess Ilana just fine."_

_The king looked at her with amusement. "Your rank proves your qualification, Amy. You're tied in my books for the most promising young soldier right along with…" the King trailed off. "Anyway", he began again. "Your training methods and tactics will persevere. I'm not sure anyone forgets your style of teaching." He chuckled. "Yes, quite unique. I never knew such a young girl could scream so loud… As I said before, you have one week from tomorrow to prepare."_

_Amy sighed. There really was no use going up against him when he was like this, not that it would be proper to do so anyhow. "Very well, then. I'll need the information about the original guardians of your daughter. I'm sure they are very capable."_

_The King's voice suddenly softened, and his eyes looked at Amy steadily. Knowing that look, she braced herself for whatever news was coming. And just in time, too. _

"_Apparently it runs in the family, as your brother really _was _perfect for the task."_

_She just stood there, completely shell-shocked. Of all the things she might have expected, this had not been one of them. "Lance?..." She felt her heart overflow. So, he lived. He was safe. _

_And she'd see him in one week. _

_Amy bowed to her king. "Thank you." _

_She rose to find_ him_ bowing to _her._ This startled her greatly- war or not, this conduct was extremely improper. He then rose to say, "It is I who should thank you. I know you'll protect her- do so well."_

_She kneeled to him and started to leave to prepare for the trip. Ten minutes ago she would have gladly climbed into bed, but she was too excited to do so now. She was stopped in the doorway by his voice behind her. "Honey?" _

_She turned, utterly surprised for what seemed like the umpteenth time that night. He radiated tenderness that she guessed had_ _previously only been shown for Ilana. "Yes?" she asked. _

_His eyes were slightly worried, and his voice betrayed his fatherly side coming out. "I've known your father longer than either of you would ever remember. I've watched you both grow up, to a point." He hesitated, watching her face. "It's been a long time. A lot can change in ten years, especially a person. He's not the man you remember him to be." _

_Amy looked him in the eyes, unusually calm. "Do not worry, my king", she assured. "He is still Lance, and that's all that matters. Anything else is not relevant." _

_She exited, the king's eyes on her back and his thoughts on her behavior. _

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~_

Other preparations were made between that time and the time of the launch. On the big day, the King came to see her off. 

"_Be careful", he said once again. "Succeed. We'll try to contact you from this end, and you should try from yours as well. The instructions on how to make the message are compacted into the circuit board of your pod, and you should be able to construct one even with the limited supplies on Earth. Octus will be able to follow the instructions. There are personal messages for each of them in your bag. Safe travels, and good luck." _

_Then, to her great surprise, he hugged her. _

"_For Ilana", he explained in her ear. "Give her my utmost love and tell her that someday soon, we'll finally be able to have our harvest festival dance." He released her, they bid each other good-bye, and soon she was on her way to the rift gate. _

_That was when her pod picked up a peculiar signal…a messenger pod from her old enemy, Xeexi. It was out of gas, but scuttling toward Mutrad at a fair rate. _

_She knew it contained information about the princess that would compromise her safety. So, what else could she do? Besides, it must have been able to activate the rift gate from Earth's end to get this far. The Octus fellow would be able to analyze it. _

_So, she snagged it…_

…_and it sent out a signal for 1,076 to start following her with all its poison spikes attatched. _

_Luckily, the signal seemed to be programmed directly to 1,076 and didn't reach Modula at all, so _her_ cover wasn't compromised. _Thank god for the distrust of the Mutraddi between each other, especially when it came to valuable information_, Amy thought…_

_The rest is history. She stuffed the thing in her bag and made a mad dash for Earth. One crash-landing later, she had switched on her special armor given to her by the King a year ago and was in battle. They arrived, of course, and while she longed to go straight to Lance, she had to finish 1,076 off. But then, too late, she realized it was programed to target Manus armor…_

"And after a couple of fuzzy memories and dreams, I woke up on your couch", Amy finished.

**Sorry that one took so long, I have a lot of stuff due Wed. and Thurs. and even Fri., so don't be surprised if it's not updated until Saturday. I stayed up until one am for this chapter…REVIEW. Also, since it is called **_**fan**_**fiction, how do **_**you fans**_** think the story should go? **

**Many more chapters and elaborating on everyday life in an exciting way like the show did (before it was cancelled, ugh)**

**Start wrapping it up and make a short epilougue**

**Wrap it up NOW and make a long epilogue**

**Or: any other suggestions on length**

**I would prefer you to choose A, because I have so many more ideas…;D. Well, I really have to go. I tried not to end this one on too much of a cliffhanger. I know it's kind of a stretch, her being a General and all, but you'll see later that it suits her personality. At least this one was happier and less depressing… PLEASE REVIEW. IF I CAN STAY UP UNTIL 1 AM WRITING FOR YOU THEN YOU CAN TAKE THREE MINUTES OUT OF YOUR LIFE TO TYPE IN A REVIEW AND HIT SEND. PLEASE. Have a good day guys, I'm going to bed now, night...**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**Thanks for all of my people who review, it really makes my day… even when the entry is not technically reviewing things, and a certain person named purpledragon6 is just being awesomely ironic ;). Even then. And, still, REVIEW. It helps motivate me to update faster. The teacher in my prep class is awesome- she doesn't mind my writing fanfiction in here as long as I'm on task, and that shouldn't be a problem. In that way, she is awesome…regardless, enjoi!**

Chapter Seven

Once she was done with her story, Amy proceeded to pass out.

She was panting from her recollection, and as her eyes clouded over she fell into Lance. He caught her, alarmed. He looked at Octus. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

He had already started analyzing her vitals. "She appears to be suffering from exhaustion, but that is to be expected. All of that talking must have stressed her oxygen intake. She should recover in one to two hours. However, despite her instructions to slap her and wake her up, I do not believe that would be optimal for her health."

Lance looked down at his baby sister in his arms. She had curled up naturally, and regardless of the fact that her face was once again covered in a thin sheen of sweat, she was smiling slightly. Lance smiled back. "Welcome home, Amy", he whispered happily.

Ilana walked into the living room to find the two of them passed out on the couch.

She smiled as she took them in. Amy was leaning into her brother, her head cradled in the hollow of his shoulder as his arm wrapped around her back. His other arm fell off the couch lazily, and Lance was using her hair as a pillow (not that there was much of it to use). His chin fit into the top of her head perfectly, and she was curled into him in an almost fetal position, though her legs were dangling off of the edge of the couch. Her arms were at her sides, and one sat next to Lance's left leg, which was curled in. His right leg was next to her on her other side, so he made a protective cradle to keep her from falling off. Identical smiles played on their faces, as if they were finally having good dreams for the first time in many years.

They looked so at peace, so happy.

She took a picture with her watch, covered them with a blanket and sat down to read a book by the fireplace. It was still on, and as the day had turned out to be stormy, it created the perfect heat. The peaceful moment seemed to stretch on and on.

Octus came downstairs after a little while. He was in his Mr. Lunis form, as they had opened the windows. The dim light shone through as he sat down in the chair opposite of her that they had gotten a little while ago. He was obviously scanning through some files (probably trying to find something else on Amy), and his gentle whirring produced a peaceful white noise, adding to the room's serenity.

Eventually Amy woke up. She was still exhausted and groggy, but she smiled happily and snuggled closer into Lance, obviously not realizing that they weren't alone. She brought her legs up to the side, and this woke up Lance. For once, Lance was groggy too, and half-consciously shifted to become more comfortable. They drifted off into sleep once more as Ilana stifled a giggle.

The next time they awoke, it was later that night.

Ilana had slept in the meantime, too, and Octus was making dinner when they awoke.

Amy and Lance stumbled into the kitchen, and Ilana giggled. They both had bed head like crazy. Amy's short red hair was sticking up in all directions, and she yawned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Lance's were only half open, and his own hair couldn't seem to make up its mind- half of it was made of poofy curls, and the other half had followed the example of that one little hair that always stuck up from his head, and together they made a kind of Mohawk. "Morning", Lance yawned.

"More like evening," replied Ilana. "It's six thirty PM. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

Amy perked up at this. "Food?" She grinned. "Great. I'm starved. What are we having?" Lance chuckled. Her appetite hadn't seemed to decrease after ten years. Amy punched him in the arm.

"Well, since this is your first meal on Earth, I figured I would make something traditional", said Octus. "So, I decided on hamburgers."

Amy's grin grew even bigger. "Great, meat!" _She's definitely Lance's brother, _thought Ilana, and her face became slightly distasteful at the thought of all of those cows being slaughtered. She wasn't a full-on vegetarian, but she did try to avoid meat when possible. Every once in a while, though, a hamburger _did _hit the spot.

"School starts at eight tomorrow, so you're going to need a lot of energy tomorrow to keep from falling asleep in history", Lance told her.

Ilana gaped at him. "You're not seriously telling me that you think she should go to Sherman tomorrow."

Lance shrugged. "Why not? She'll be fine. She's tough, believe me." He ruffled his sister's hair, making her bed head worse. "Besides, it's better this way. The sooner she assimilates the better. We wouldn't want Barb looking through the window prematurely and seeing her. We'll have to have Octus there to calm her down, since he seems to have a certain _way _with her." The last part Lance directed jokingly toward Octus.

The robot changed the subject. "Any way, Amy's already enrolled. She almost always has at least one of us in her classes."

They all looked at him peculiarly. "How? She's two years younger than we are."

"I put her in as 'advanced', so we could be in the same grade. It's going to kind of weird having a fourteen-year-old as a junior, but the school year is only half way through and according to her birth certificate that I found, her birthday would translate to being a week away in Earth time." He looked at Amy. "I know that you studied about Earth before coming here. You will have to work extra hard in your classes, despite this. It will work out, though."

Ilana didn't hear the last part. She was bubbling over with excitement. "Your birthday's a week away? How exciting! We have to do something for it! Oh, my, gifts! What do you want?" All the questions were blended together, leaving Amy no room to answer.

The young teenager chuckled. "It is not necessary to celebrate my birthday, Princess."

Ilana frowned. "Two things. One: please just call me Ilana, and two: we ARE celebrating your birthday, so that's that."

Lance agreed with her. "You bet. I've missed ten of them, I'm not missing another."

Amy gave Lance a dirty look that turned into a sly smile. "Fine, then. I suppose we'll just have to celebrate yours, too."

"What? When is his?!" demanded Ilana, and Lance sighed in exasperation.

"A week after mine. So, two weeks from now", Amy responded.

"Dinner is ready", Octus announced, and they turned to see the table set and hamburgers on every plate. They washed their hands and sat back down at the table.

"So, what's my schedule?" Amy asked Octus as she dug in to her hamburger eagerly.

"Trigonometry, Word History, Physical Education, Spanish, and Chemistry. I left your elective open to decide tomorrow at the admissions office. If you take art, you'll have Ilana in your class, and Lance and I are both in pottery", Octus explained. Lance snorted at the mention of pottery, which he thought was the most useless class in the world. He did, however, like punching the clay. He always imagined it was Chan's face.

Amy looked up excitedly. She swallowed and asked, "What kind of bands do they have?"

They all stared at her.

Lance looked at her in exasperation. "Tell me you haven't become a band geek in the past ten years."

Amy's face betrayed her confusion. "Back on Galaluna, those who played instruments were viewed as the most popular people in the school."

Her brother laughed. "Then I guess, when you were studying about Earth, you didn't come across the fact that most of those in band are considered 'geeks' here. There are a few exceptions, though", Lance said thoughtfully.

"Then, Octus, can you sign me up for band?" Amy asked with a smile.

"Your options are Intermediate and Advanced Orchestras, String Ensemble, Intermediate and Advanced Bands, and Wind Ensemble", Octus told her.

"The most advanced one for winds and strings", Amy chose. "You can drop Spanish. I don't need a language, since I'm already fluent in that and many other languages. Also, can you change P.E. to soccer? I know it's just like Tyrenball back on Galaluna."

"Sure", Octus replied. "Also, there is _one _more music option available at Sherman. It's a seventh period class."

Lance started staring daggers at the robot. "No. Don't say it." Amy looked at Octus curiously.

"This year, the program is running all year under directions of the principal. Next year, though, it will be back to a fall sport." As Octus said this, Amy looked at him quizzically. "I thought you said it was a musical program, not a sport."

Octus explained. "The Wildcat Marching Band."

After much arguing, compromising, and rearranging schedules, it was agreed that Amy would take Wind Ensemble, String Ensemble, Marching Band, and soccer as well as the other required classes (Spanish excluded). Ilana was partial to soccer as well, so she would switch from her third period PE class to Varsity Soccer with Amy. They would both try out tomorrow. Octus had rearranged his schedule so he had the Ensembles with Amy. They would both have to audition for that on Monday as well, but with Octus' uncanny ability to analyze anything (including music), he was sure to get in. No one was willing to switch to be in Marching Band with Amy, though, and she didn't seem to mind.

And so, the schedules were set for the beginning of the second semester the next day.

"You're going to need supplies", explained Lance. "Binders, pens, pencils, all of that stuff."

"Just like the supplies for school on Galaluna", Amy confirmed. "No need to worry. I already have all of that stuff in my ba-"

She froze. Several emotions flickered across her face at once. Confusion, anger, despair, desperateness, murderous, sadness. She settled on extremely worried, and looked at all of them urgently. "What was recovered from my pod after I landed?"

They were all startled by her sudden demand, but Octus answered right away. "Only the Galalunian tech in the circuitry and a bag. We assumed it was yours."

The relief was clear on the young girl's face. "Oh, thank goodness", she said. "Where is it?"

Octus went to go get it. As he brought it back to her, Amy grabbed it urgently and started going through it.

"Geez," Lance said with good humor. "And I thought the girls here on Earth liked their purses."

Amy looked at him and rolled her eyes. "If you knew how important this bag was, Lance, you wouldn't scoff at me. If you think I'm stressed about losing my makeup, you are wrong."

"What's in it?" Ilana asked with curiosity. She blushed, realizing the question might not have been appropriate. "I mean, if you don't mind telling us."

"Everything I owned on Galaluna," Amy said. "So, not much. It's also stocked with high-level healing antibiotics and medicines along with many other things that I might have needed on Earth- including school supplies. The scientists on Galaluna developed a technology so that anything entering the bag would be shrunk by increasing its density. The bag is made to weigh nothing by creating a zero-gravity chamber on the inside. It only weighs the fabric of the bag itself. It's pretty much the best bag ever. It's common in the war, too- the Mutraddi may have force, but we have brains. It's great for carrying supplies to troops."

"Seems like a whole lot of trouble", Lance said skeptically. He was eyeing the bag as if it was about to bite off her arm.

"When it comes to protecting the Princess, nothing is too much." Amy brought out a bottle of pills. "Here we go. One of these, and my wound will be completely closed by tomorrow. I'll be able to try out for everything without the threat of passing out." She took the pill with some milk and ate another bite of her hamburger.

She looked at them. "There's one more thing it holds."

They looked at her with curiosity, and then eagerness and disbelief as she said: "A personal message for each of you from The King and some others."

The hamburgers had been forgotten by all but Amy.

As she munched silently, she wondered what life would be like on Earth. _Not that bad, I hope_, she thought. As soon as she had given each their video hologram messages, they had retreated to their rooms to watch them. Even Octus had left with urgency.

She yawned. She was still tired, and the healing pill had a slight narcotic in it. She walked back into the living room after washing the dishes and crashed on the couch.

Lance was sitting on his bed staring at his triangle. The triangle that contained his message from The King. _And others too, according to Amy_, he thought. _I wonder what she meant by 'others'. Well, there's only one way to find out. _

He flipped on the projector.

The tip of the triangle produced a hologram in front of him. Lance gasped as he saw his King. He felt the urge to kneel before him, even though he knew that the man projected before him was in reality many light-years away. The man before him… this war-weary, tired, clearly sad man. This changed man. And yet… he was happy. Perhaps they had just made a successful push against the Mutradi…?

The King began to speak.

"Hello, Lance." The soldier sat up straighter, as if he were being addressed in real time. "The fact that you are reading this means that Amy made it safely to Earth. Thank god for that, she's one hell of a woman." Both the man on the bed and the man in the hologram smiled. "And one hell of a soldier, too. You're lucky to have her. I'm sad to see her go. It'll be tough without both of you. But enough about Amy. This message is for you."

A soldier rushed up to the King and gave him a message. The king responded and the soldier ran off. The soldier had looked oddly familiar… Lance couldn't quite place his finger on him. "You'll speak to that soldier later," the King told him. His face turned into that of someone with an inside joke as he said, "He's about your age."

The King continued. "I trust you are taking good care of Ilana. I can guess you must have clashed in the beginning, since you two are so different. But she's Ilana, and I know that she's changed you. It's impossible for her to not have unless you haven't been taking your job seriously, and I know you take _everything _seriously, so…" the King chuckled. "Just remember, you're there to assimilate, not to draw attention."

The King looked at Lance very deliberately. "I trust you with Ilana, Lance." Lance felt a hidden message, but couldn't quite decipher it. "I know that you will do your best to protect her. Take ALL the necessary measures… and enjoy her company, Lance." The hologram showed the pain in his face. "I miss her every day here. The only reason I can live is that I know that you're protecting her, and that you always will. In a way, I live through you, Lance. So live with Ilana well." For no particular reason, that last sentence caused Lance to blush.

At this point in time, The King ducked out of the view of the screen. He gestured for the soldier that had delivered the message to come into view, and as he did, Lance scrutinized him once more. Torn and tattered clothes, a marked face, and the eyes of a man who had not slept for several days slapped Lance in the face. Some soldier _he _was, sitting in a history class every day while people fought and died for his planet.

With a start Lance realized he recognized the soldier on the screen. Yes, the familiar sneer had disappeared, but the blond hair and ridiculously long nose gave him away.

Baron.

Lance felt his blood boil, and despite the fact that it was just a hologram, had an overwhelming urge to punch his rival in that big nose.

The feeling disappeared as Baron began to talk.

"Hey, Lance," Baron said in a weary, cracked voice. Yet there was something lying underneath it… relief? That didn't make sense…

"So, I don't have much time here. My squadron leaves in ten minutes to lead another attack against the Mutradi. I have to be there to help. So, long story short…" Baron paused, clearly fighting with himself. "I'm sorry."

Lance recoiled. _What the heck…_?

Baron continued. "I was a bastard back at the Academy. I realize that now. I can't really believe I'm saying this", Baron admitted, "but I was jealous of you. You had the dedication, the skills… and despite the fact that I had everything material and you had nothing, you rose above that. I felt like you made a fool of me. With hubris being my fatal flaw, I suppose I just couldn't tolerate that." Baron paused. "I still think you're annoying as hell, though", Baron joked. Lance smiled, and his last bit of resentment towards his childhood enemy dissolved.

An indecipherable announcement came on over a distant intercom in the background, and Baron's face tightened. "Well, I suppose that's my call. One more thing", he said. "I met Amy. Take care of her. Her and Ilana. With you guys, Galaluna might just stand a chance, whether we win or not." With that, Lance's not-so-much rival rushed off to risk his life for Galaluna. "Good luck, Baron, and be safe", Lance found himself whispering. There was no way he was going to let Baron die before Lance got to see him again, for so many reasons. To finish the fight. To accept the apology. To return it. To become friends. _Funny, _thought Lance. _If even Amy would have told me that just twenty minutes ago, I would have laughed in her face. Perhaps Ilana _has _changed me. I'm able to accept Baron now. _Lance marveled at his change in mentality in just the past year or so.

"That is pretty much it," The King said as he reappeared, and Lance found himself disappointed. He wanted there to be more. The hologram hesitated. "There is one more thing, though. Obviously we don't know when the war will end, so we don't know when Ilana will come back. She'll probably take Amy's arrival as false hope. Now, don't crush that hope, but don't encourage it, either. Let it dwindle slowly. I know it'll take a while, but if it does, then it will do so in due time." The King gave Lance one last meaningful look, one that Lance couldn't fully decipher. Concern, yes, and even some compassion. But there were a few more elements that were harder to read…"Just," he told Lance, "take care of her. Please. For me."

And with that, the hologram disappeared, leaving Lance staring at the other side of his bed.

"Octus." The King's hologram addressed the robot as his analysis began. "You have most likely gained invaluable experience by this point. I have enclosed a few instructions at the end of this message for updates. I thank you for the service you have done for my daughter, and for Lance. Rest assured, Amy is worthy of being trusted." The King glanced out from the hologram with the emotion that Octus interpreted as caution.

"Do not forget something, Octus. Despite your abilities, you are indeed the most vulnerable of the group." Octus tensed, and a sense of almost indignation registered.

The King continued. "As I'm sure you have discovered by now, you have capabilities that range beyond purely logical. You are not fully machine nor man, and so you are weak to assaults of both the emotional and mechanical kind." Octus recalled the recent events of his temporary 'death' and found the King's words to be true.

"You also have the enormous capability of adaptation and learning, so you can adjust to your environment much easier than either Ilana or Lance. You obviously have other mechanical abilities that are extremely important as the mind of Titan, and I trust that you use them. That is it, really. Just one thing. Please, I know it is hard, but try not to let yourself become caught between your man and machine mentalities." As the hologram started running the instructions for upgrades, the King vanished. Octus could not help but think that he had perhaps been referring to situations such as Kimmy.

_I should probably call her, _he thought. _She has texted me many times. _ With that, the robot went to call his human girlfriend and further complicate the situation.

Ilana was obviously the one most excited about her message. Finally, news from her father.

After rushing upstairs and throwing herself onto her bed, she fumbled for the on switch and, upon clicking it, laid it gently on her bed. As her father's face appeared on the screen in front of her, she felt her heart ache.

Daddy.

He was war-torn and weary, she could tell, but he tried to hide it for her. She could find hidden pain easily now after this time she had spent with Lance- especially the past day and a half.

"Hello, my darling." His voice made her heart skip a beat. It had been so long, she had almost forgotten his face, his voice…

"There are so many things I wish to say to you, but I only have so much time. First of all, _I love you_. No matter how many light-years away we might be, that fact will always ring true. I am so glad you made it safely to Earth. I hope you aren't giving Lance a hard time", he joked. Ilana smiled slyly. That had, in fact, been hard in the beginning.

"Second, I want to remind you not to do anything rash. You are the hope of Galaluna, no matter the outcome of the war. Amy is a great strategist and General overall, though, and she's helped to almost turn around the war. We have been progressing in knowledge, and it's helping our resistance. We might just have a chance here. There is not yet cause to despair. Our soldiers are fighting back under the name of Galaluna. Under the name of their princess, Ilana." Ilana felt tears come to her eyes. _For me…_

"Speaking of soldiers…." Her father ducked out of view. _Don't go_, thought Ilana, but became overjoyed when an old friend came into view.

"Hobbs!" She cried with joy at the monitor. Her old bodyguard had entered her field of vision and was smiling. "Hello, Princess. I don't want to keep you from your father for too long, but I had to say hello and to remind you to stay safe." He glared at her with good humor. "I can only hope that there are no wells on Earth. Because, with you, there's always a well…" Ilana laughed and felt tears spill over as nostalgic memories flowed back. She wondered how the natives were doing. No doubt their brand-new school had been destroyed. The thought made her sad, but she was distracted by Hobbs' next words.

"Be careful around Lance", he warned. Ilana looked at the screen in surprise. The soldier explained. "I've worked with him before. He's unruly, unsustainable, completely self-centered and yet still manages to be depressed. So, in a nutshell, he contradicts with you in every way possible." Hobbs smirked, and then smiled. "If anyone can change him, though, it's you, and I know you will do so in the best way possible." He smiled sadly, checking the time. "Unfortunately, I must go join a meeting. Please, my Princess. Be safe." And as he was walking away, Ilana thought she heard him say, "And don't find any wells….."

Her Daddy came back on. "As much as I wish you were here, I am so glad you are safe. Not a day goes by that I don't think about and miss you, and I would trade the world to have you by my side. Just knowing that you are safe with Octus and Lance helps me get through the day. And, about Lance."

Ilana felt herself blushing.

Her father looked at her with a look she hadn't seen before. She supposed it was the "boy" look that she had never gotten, as she had never had more than one diplomatic arrangement with the same man. "I trust Lance. And I trust you. So, I trust you two. I believe that you two will…" her father looked at her uncomfortably, and Ilana laughed lightly. This was not his area of expertise, that was sure. "I trust that you two will cooperate as…_best _as you can."

An intercom blared. Her father's beard shone in the light, the once pure and well-conditioned white now turned to a dirty grey with dirt and sweat peppering it. She ignored the red marks. "It appears I must go", he said with an immense sadness matched by Ilana's. "Be safe, my darling. I have sent you a gift through Amy- just ask her for it." The last sentence before the hologram terminated was an urgent whisper full of immensely strong emotion. "I love you, Ilana."

Her father left her once more, and in the newly dark room Ilana was left weeping tears of joy and sadness into her pillow, her salty water staining the fabric.

They all exited their rooms at the same times.

Ilana had dried her tears, Lance had snapped out of his reverie, and Octus was currently updating himself. They looked at each other and a mutual decision was made- _later_. They were tired, and needed rest.

They all went downstairs and stopped at the sight of Amy crashed on the couch.

Of course. How could they have forgotten?

The fourteen-year-old teenager was curled up in a ball, shivering. Wearing shorts and a T-shirt wasn't exactly enough warmth in a house that Octus liked to keep at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Lance walked over to her and picked her up as if she were a baby, his arms cradling her legs and neck. He walked back up the stairs, and Ilana and Octus followed them. Ilana rushed ahead and opened the door to her room. Lance came in and tucked his little sister in, and sat down at the edge of Ilana's bed. He looked at his little sister in silence, and Ilana came up and sat down next to him. She put his hand on his, and rested her head on his shoulder. Octus sat in a chair across from them, and they all looked at the girl who, in the course of a couple of hours, had traversed thousands of light-years, been stabbed, almost died, woken up in a strange house, been reunited with her brother, and eaten her first hamburger (perhaps the most important of all). More than any of them could even process, really.

One heck of a woman. One heck of a soldier. One heck of a General.

One heck of a fourteen-year-old girl.

They all looked at her as they slowly fell asleep (or went into sleep mode [alarms for the next day set, of course]), together, a family of four in a room overlooking the city.

A true family.

**WOW sorry that took so long. I actually started that Wednesday…ten pages in Word, sheesh. I admit that I fashioned Amy's band geekiness after my own (marching band nerds rule ;). And it IS a sport. Try doing what we do forty hours a week and say it's not), but I'm going to make her way better at it. Haha, living through fictional characters. Living the life. Ha… anyway… I have really been feeling of the loss of this show recently. I know that no matter how well I write (*cough* not that well *cough*) there are some things that can only be conveyed through the show, and it will never really replace the show itself (which it is not meant to do, anyway). I am, however, glad that some of you like it. Please review, it is always appreciated. Some Ilanca in the next chapter, maybe posted Monday or Wednesday (?). I will try to update, but have to read and take notes of 60 pages of my English book, do my math, study for science, practice, and do the chores still, soo… yeah. Also, it's like three right now, so I need sleep. Please review and have a nice day **


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise.**_

**Special thanks to: purpledragon6 and A Necessary Production. Reviews are always smiled upon **

**Sorry this took so long! I have had to read sooo much for English, and then I got sick, and a lot of junk has been going on, so, yeah… and then, since I'm such a procrastinator, my parents want me to always do my homework for updating. I had to sneak away to write this…. So, enjoy! And, as always, review!**

Chapter 8

Amy woke to Octus' alarm. She looked around, startled, to find herself tucked into a bed with flowery covers. She must have been in Ilana's room, because all around her were simple, yet girly, items that reminded her of Galaluna. With a start she found that she wasn't alone, and bolted upright. This startled Lance and Ilana, who jerked awake. Ilana found that her head was still resting on Lance's shoulder, and that her hand was still on top of his. She quickly removed herself from him, as he moved away from her with the same awkwardness. They massaged their sore necks and backs as Octus said, "It is time to start preparing for school."

Lance stood up with a slight grunt. "Uh, yeah. Amy, don't forget to pack your stuff for school. I'll explain the campus to you in the car. I'm, uh… gonna go get ready." With that he briskly walked out of the room, and within seconds could be heard drawing a shower (which Amy remembered that he liked cold).

Ilana also rose and stretched. Amy quickly got out of the princess's bed, and asked where she could prepare. Ilana frowned. "We didn't get you any clothes…"

"Oh, no, that's fine", Amy quickly assured her. "I packed a couple pairs from Galaluna, just some plain T-shirts and jeans." She frowned, though. "Shoes might be a problem, though. I've only got combat boots."

"You could wear some of mine", Ilana offered, gesturing to her growing collection.

Amy peeked at the shoes. There were some tennis shoes, some flats, some boots, and…wait, what were _those_? They looked like a torture device with heels six inches high, a pattern of snakeskin and leather, spikes all over it, and an exposed toe so pointed that it could be used to stab someone. She shuddered slightly. This was a new kind of combat weapon to her.

"Uh, I think I'll just wear my boots, so I'll be comfortable. Anyway, to be honest, those scare me", Amy admitted, looking towards the torture shoes.

Ilana giggled, and her eyes sparkled with an inside joke. "You _are _just like your brother… very well. Don't forget to pack accordingly for your auditions today. You can get ready in the guest bedroom downstairs. I suppose that will be your room, now."

Amy thanked her and headed downstairs to take a shower while Octus prepared breakfast.

As a trained strategist and tactician, Amy was amazed at how easily plans went awry in the house.

They had planned to leave by seven thirty, as school started at eight. However, they weren't ready until fifteen minutes after that, as everyone was busy rushing around, trying to prepare for the second semester. Everyone, of course, except for Amy- since her bag was her backpack and she already had everything packed, all she had to do was shower, get dressed and have breakfast. She tried to help the others get ready, and Lance explained where she would be going to get to her classes as they wove through traffic. They arrived at school only five minutes after they left, surprisingly fast- but, then again, 'Mr. Lunis' was great during rush hour.

Lance managed to show Amy around school, take her to her locker, give her the combination, and walk her to her class before the final bell. She noticed how all the girls looked at Lance, and elbowed him in the ribs playfully. "Looks like you've got a fan club."

He rolled his eyes. "Please, don't encourage them. I don't understand these earthlings at all."

"Yeah, what girl could like you?" she teased, and he ruffled her hair. "Ah, shaddup," he responded.

Before the bell rang, she had enough time to review her schedule once more. First period was Trig, then came World History and soccer tryouts with Ilana. Then they had a break, and fourth period was tryouts with Octus- _Newton_, she corrected herself- for String Ensemble. Then lunch, and once that was done, she had Chemistry and another tryout with _Newton_ for Wind Ensemble. _I wonder what instrument he'll pick to audition for, _she wondered, and smiled at the thought of him with a piccolo (which is a very small flute that can go reeealllly high and hurt your ears). Finally, her seventh period was an audition for the Wildcat Marching Band, which she would have to ace to get in halfway through the year. Busy day.

Trigonometry passed without incident. Amy introduced herself, and many eyes widened when the teacher confirmed that she was Lance and Ilana's sister. The teacher gave her a list of tutors to help her get caught up, but it became evident that it would not be needed when Amy solved two polynomials perfectly using Kramer's theory, which had been taught the semester before. On Galaluna, she remembered, this had been standard knowledge, and noted that this class should be fairly easy. She had been placed next to Ilana (thanks to Octus), and they both smiled as the students gaped at them when they easily answered the hardest questions their teacher had to offer.

She found herself seated next to Lance in World History, and again her introduction was met with surprise. Many of them glanced back at Lance, who had a satisfied smirk on his face that they were all so dumbfounded that he had another sister. She found that History was actually pretty interesting, as she learned about the economy of this planet and all of their failed military tactics (which Amy noted with slight amusement were all extremely poorly thought out). Once she pointed out a flaw in one of the Americans' most prized invasion plans, one that they called flawless, and the History teacher just looked from her to the board and back, and replied with amazement, "Yes, I suppose that would have guaranteed even less casualties." Lance looked over at her with a grin, and she looked at him with amusement. Many other times, though, he would fall asleep and she would have to wake him up before the teacher asked him a question. Typical Lance. Never much one for schoolwork.

Directly after, she headed towards the field with a wave and a "good luck" from Lance. After changing with Ilana in a highly inconvenient locker room (she had to be careful not to let anyone see her bandages, which were clean but still necessary), she took another 'healing' pill to make sure she wouldn't have any problems trying out for soccer. She and Ilana both performed wonderfully, and the coach didn't have to wait to post a team sheet before assuring them they both made it. Practices were every third period and games were Wednesday afternoons after school.

Break brought slight unease.

Lance and Amy were both swarmed with students (teenage girls especially) demanding an explanation for the sudden turn of events. Ilana had a crowd, too, but Newton was handling hers. Meanwhile, neither of the real siblings had a chance to answer any questions before the bell rang for fourth period (not that they wanted to anyway), and as Amy parted from the sea of students she nearly sprinted to the band room in an attempt to escape the demands of her classmates. Newton caught up with her, and they made it to the String Ensemble tryouts just in time.

Newton had produced a case from thin air, and from the looks of it, he was auditioning for the bass (bigger than the cello, which is like a vertical violin that's typically about 3/5 as tall as the person playing it). _Well, I suppose that suits him_, Amy thought as she sat down with her violin case that she had materialized from her bag.

She had not expected their music teacher to be so…well… _eccentric_.

True, he was dressed in a dress shirt and nice pants, and his poofy hair was sort of combed back, but his wild eyes and crazy attitude were rather unusual.

He didn't have her introduce herself, or Newton either, though she supposed there wouldn't have been a reaction at the last name "Lunis". The people here seemed like they didn't really care about popularity or social cliques. There was a mixture of nerds and some cooler people, with the cooler people being fewer than the nerds. The nerds seemed to have their own classifications as well: geeks, actual nerds, and dorks. There were virtually no "middle people", though (those people who seem to just blend in). Everyone in the group seemed to get along well together, like comrades with friendly competition to see who's best.

"Well, usually people aren't insane enough to try out for this class halfway into the year," Mr. Gerome (the music teacher) said. "But I suppose we have a few new pieces of fresh meat." The class turned to look at them. They were mostly juniors and seniors, with a few sophomores and three freshmen at best. Some of them looked at Amy and Newton with pity, thinking that they were about to be humiliated in front of the class. The others looked at them with something similar to blood thirst- a do-or-die moment. If they made it, they would be accepted- if they failed, it would be epic, and in doing so they be rejected completely. Amy had definitely seen too much war, because to her this whole room was filled with competition. She naturally sat up straighter, accepting the challenge.

_Do they really consider this as hard? _Amy thought during the audition. This was a piece of cake. All twenty-four major and minor scales in two minutes? Nothing. Sight-reading a piece that's tempo was 160 and cut time along with all sixteenth notes and a c sharp scale? Piece of cake. The class watched with astonishment as both the girl and the robot exceeded their expectations, and with great tone to boot. Mr. Gerome's face was priceless. His ecstasy showed, and they were both eagerly enveloped into the fold. Amy was put as co-first chair with a nice senior named Mike, and Newton was put as second bass wedged in between the Lee twins. The two Lee girls were both very nice and very smart, and Newton got into a conversation with them immediately about the credibility of today's quantum physics. Amy and Newton both got all of the music that the orchestra was playing for Festival (musical competition) in a week, and were expected to be fully caught up by tomorrow. Neither one of them considered this a problem.

Lunch was ten times worse than break.

By this time, word had gotten around to virtually every student at Sherman that Lance had another sister, and that she was smarter than most of the seniors. Their usually small table became crowded with bodies, and the ruckus became such that the lunch ladies couldn't handle it anymore and were forced to call in the principal. He warned them that if they didn't all settle down, he'd be giving out detentions, and they all quieted down slightly before he left the room again.

Amy tried to eat her lunch (which was good, but hardly aesthetically appealing), but only got a few bites in during the whole half-hour of what was supposed to be rest. She tried to answer their questions, but at a certain point she gave up. "No, yes, no, no, possibly, no, and no. Now go away." They didn't listen to her.

During the last five minutes, Lance finally got things under control.

"HEY!"

Everyone in the whole cafeteria shut up. Ilana tried to become as little as possible, Newton looked at Lance with slight annoyance, and Amy regarded him with amusement as he told them all to back off of her or else.

Many "jeez"s and "whatever"s were muttered, and most of the crowd backed off. Some people lingered around the table, dodging the glances Lance threw at them. He sat back down and resumed his meal. Amy chuckled under her breath as she hurriedly finished her own lunch, the bell ringing just as she was finished.

As the bell rang, she piled her tray on top of the others and walked with Lance and Ilana to Chemistry. The introduction was the same as the other classes (String Ensemble excluded), and Amy moved amongst the whispers to her seat (surprise, surprise) in between Lance and Ilana. Most of the whispers, Amy noticed, were centered around her and her brother. Without trying, she caught a few phrases- 'overprotective', 'soft spot', and 'who knew'. The science was basic but interesting, and the class passed without further incident.

Sixth period found her back in the band room with Newton, Mr. Gerome, and a new bunch of nerds.

This time around, Mr. Gerome seemed to be expecting their performance level. Nevertheless, as Amy performed Stamitz's 9th clarinet concerto with perfect pitch and Newton aced all of his scales on his tuba (which suited him perfectly), the class found their jaws dropped. Once again they were admitted into the ensemble and the odd little group. They received the music and one night to perfect it, but for first tuba and co-first clarinet, said Mr. Gerome, that should be no problem at all. This time the co-first chair was a small girl named Miranda, and she and Amy became fast friends. Newton sat next to a quiet girl named Ally and a talkative boy named Joe, and they also grew to know each other. Just like as in String Ensemble, no one really cared about popularity, and there were a few people who, like Amy and Newton, were in both the Ensembles. They warned the two the work would be hard, and blanched when Amy told them she was trying out for marching band as well. Only two of the students in the whole school were in both ensembles and marching band, and they admitted to having no social life whatsoever. Amy just smiled happily and said, "bring it on".

Which brings us to her seventh period audition.

Perhaps the biggest class in all of the school, the Wildcat Marching Band truly was wild, and Mr. Gerome's true personality was brought to light. Given the opportunity to change into a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a T-shirt, he became more light-hearted, and this time Amy _was _asked to introduce herself. Some of the people in marching band did, in fact, know of the Lunis siblings, and had a hard time refraining themselves from bombarding her with questions during practice (which they did afterwards anyway). Mr. Gerome (whom many of the students casually and affectionately just called "Gerome" [a habit Amy would soon adopt]) assumed that she would play clarinet, and so was surprised when she told him she would like to play trumpet here instead. This audition was much easier than even the other ones were, and so it was no problem that she got in. The 'show' (the performance, where shapes and figures are formed while playing memorized music) was being re-started due to a second semester, which was a rare occurrence. It was a good thing, though- otherwise, everyone else would've known the whole ten-minute show perfectly, while Amy would have been left to figure the whole thing out (which she could've done, but it would have been a hassle). She was appointed co-first chair for trumpet (she was beginning to feel a pattern) along with a senior named Andre, who had a very…unique sense of humor. Sort of perverted to the point of being funny, and he often did random things for no reason that left everyone either cracking up or sighing with annoyance. _Lance_, Amy thought with a chuckle, _would hate him. Super over-protective mode, for sure. Either that, or they'd make pretty good friends. _She decided she'd find out later.

The practice was an hour long. The new music was passed out, and everyone got their 'dots' for the first movement ('dots' are the coordinates on the field that the marchers are assigned to go to at a certain point in the music, kind of like directions). Mr. Gerome admitted that they would usually get accustomed to the music before the dots were passed out, but since it was the middle of the year, they were kind of pressed for time. The practice schedule was established- Tuesdays 3-5, Wednesdays 5-9 (after soccer 3-5), Fridays 3-7 (since football season was over, they wouldn't be having any more Friday games), and the typical show on Saturday, where the labor would vary from five hours to twelve hours of work. This schedule later astonished Lance, who wondered how "so much time could be put into something so useless". Amy would tense at this, but let it go for the moment.

They were dismissed promptly at four, and Amy experienced a sense of de ja vu as the "bandies" swamped her, nearly knocking her over if it weren't for her acute sense of balance.

"Why did you join now?" "Are you really Lance's sister?" "You know, you're kind of crazy to do the two ensembles and marching band at the same time." "Say something in Chinese!" (this last demand came from her being transferred from China, her alibi).

The last of these Amy obeyed, and proceeded to exclaim (rather loudly), "Hung gao xing xing dong yi." They all stared at her.

"What does that mean?" asked the person who had asked her to speak Chinese in the first place.

"It was nice meeting you", Amy said calmly, separating her trumpet and mouthpiece and packing them both up. "See you tomorrow", she called, waving good-bye. They stared after her as she ran to the car waiting for her in the parking lot and jumped in the back seat.

"So, how was it?" asked Lance, and Ilana looked at her with expectation as well. Amy shrugged. "Eh. The usual."

The next two days passed without any other surprises. Amy had easily accustomed herself to life on Earth, and the ruckus at school slowly calmed down. Indeed, there was much rumor about Lance, and how he appeared to have a soft spot for Amy. His fans certainly had not expected this, and now that this bad boy seemed to have a soft spot for his sister, the girls found him even more irresistibly sexy (to his extreme annoyance).

One night he complained to his little sister at dinner: "Ever since you've come along, those stupid girls won't get off me! One tried to kiss me today!" he complained, and where Lance didn't notice Ilana's tension at this last sentence, Amy observed it with slight amusement.

"What, and you didn't kiss her back?" Amy teased, and Lance let out a grunt of disgust which seemed to ease Ilana a little.

All of the music programs were pretty fun. Amy had already gotten cell phone numbers from half of the Ensembles and Marching Band, and despite the fact that she was already preoccupied with classes after Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, she had also scheduled private practices on Thursdays, so her only free day was Monday. She would practice with her violin, clarinet, and trumpet sections with her co-leader until six (one hour for each, as school got out at 2:50 and they had a 10 minute passing period). "So much for blending in", Amy sighed one evening. "Oh, well."

Thursday, however, held many surprises in store for all of them.

During lunch, Kimmy bounded over to all of them. She had been sick since Saturday, so she was forced to hear about Amy from all of her classmates. Newton, of course, had visited her every day, but having printed no pictures, Kimmy was forced to accept descriptions. Wednesday night her fever had broken, but she was late to school Thursday morning, and was swamped by her friends during break, so she was so eager to see the new Lunis sister that she bowled into her.

If Amy hadn't known better, Kimmy would've been dead in seconds, but as Octus had warned her of the crazy cheerleader Amy knew exactly who this was. "Hi, Kimmy", Amy greeted the girl she had caught from falling over and was currently trying to help back up.

Kimmy blushed as Newton pulled her up. "Sorry! I guess I was going too fast!" She giggled, observing Amy. She grinned. "A redhead, nice! I had heard that you had red hair, but I thought it was dyed." She held her hand up for a high-five, and Amy returned it with an amused expression. "You've heard about me", Amy noted.

"Well, yeah, duh. I mean, no offense, but new kids in Sherman are a pretty big deal. Your brother and sister and Newton here were pretty big when they appeared. And disappeared…" Kimmy looked at Newton, then back at Amy. "Anyway, you're another Lunis, and considering no one even knew you existed, such a sudden transfer is going to create gossip."

"I see. Well, here I am", Amy said, resuming her lunch.

Kimmy looked at her strangely. "Oh, no. I'm not done with you yet." Amy looked up from her lunch. "I didn't think you were", she admitted.

"Okay. Question number one: you're fourteen and a junior: how?"

"I'm advanced for my age, and either way, next week I'll be fifteen", Amy responded. The rest of lunch Kimmy grilled Amy (to Lance's great disdain), and seemed particularly perturbed when Amy admitted to being in 'all three' (String Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, and Marching Band). "B-b-but, _why_?" the cheerleader asked, obviously troubled.

Amy shrugged. "I like it. Newton likes it too, I suppose. The people are funny and nice, and it makes me happy, just like cheerleading does for you."

Kimmy laughed good-naturedly. "You're comparing marching band and cheerleading? Good luck, Amy. That's all I can say. You'll do just fine, though- I can tell."

Amy smiled. "Thanks, I suppose. I've got rehearsal after school until six in the band room. You could drop by if you like."

The bell chose that moment to ring, and the Lunises hurried off to Chemistry while Newton walked a thoughtful Kimmy off to history.

"Oh, great", Lance muttered as he rounded the corner to the H wing.

Glaring him in the face was a great big yellow poster screaming, "SPRING DANCE COMING 3/1! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW AND DON'T FORGET TO GRAB A DATE!" in bright pink letters. "THE THEME IS 'HAWAII SUNSET', SO DRESS FOR A LUAU!" The letters got smaller at the end, and you could tell that whoever was making the poster had run out of room, so it was more like, "SO DRESS FOR A LUAU!" The girls were all crowded under the poster, squealing like crazy. The last line killed Lance.

"Girl's choice!" _WHYYYYYY_, Lance cried out in silent agony. _This is going to be torture. I'll be lucky to survive. _He wasn't cocky, but it was true that he had a lot of secret admirers. He didn't know it at the time, but before he left school that day he would already have been asked by two different girls (neither of them being Kristen). At least when it was guy's choice, he was in control… he sighed and headed off to pottery, ready to pound his frustration into clay.

Amy thought she was going to die.

She couldn't breathe. Her eyes were watering. She was about to pass out.

Not even those guards with the fuzzy hats at the British palace (or wherever they were) would be able to stand Andre. So perverted, yet so funny…

Amy finally recovered from her fit of laughter and punched him in the arm. Her face was beet red, and most of the trumpet section started cracking up just from her face. _We're hopeless_, Amy thought with a smile.

Eventually, they settled down. "From measure sixty-four?" Amy asked Andre. "Sure", he chuckled.

The room was soon filled with the blast of trumpets, not nearly as nasal or badly pitched as it had been at the beginning. It still needed some work, though.

Andre noticed it, too. "Hey, guys, make sure you focus on tone. When you tongue, say _tone _so your throat opens into a vowel shape."

"Yeah, make sure you practice with your tuners, guys", Amy said. "And, for measure seventy-nine-" she paused as the trumpets found the measure- "it's rest for one- e-and, the you come in on the a of one, right before two. You guys are either coming in at the and or at two. Sixteenth note rests are tricky, but necessary. Make sure you mark that in." She checked her watch and got up. "Well, that's all I can do. Obey master Andre." And, with a salute, she exited the room full of laughter with a smile and headed for her violin section. She met Newton on the way in, and they waved as he headed off to the bass room with the Lee sisters following him. As she walked into the band room to refill the water bottle at the faucet, she thought she heard someone shuffle behind the doors. _Try to relax, _she told herself. _There are a lot of students that hang around the band room after school. It's probably just someone getting their instrument. _Her water bottle filled, she walked toward the violin section and Mike.

The violin sectional passed by with a peaceful serenity. Mike and Amy seemed to work naturally together, hardly requiring words. They improved a great deal on the gray area of Radiant Moonbeams, and left with satisfaction. Amy refilled her water once again (it was a hot day), and thought she heard that same shuffle. She tried not to be paranoid as she met Miranda and the other five clarinets for their sectionals.

Miranda might be small girl, and she might appear timid, but Amy soon realized that she was anything but quiet.

The clarinet section was a nice blend of the trumpet and violin sections, both fun and somewhat peaceful. Miranda couldn't seem to whisper for her life, and everyone cracked up whenever she tried. They got the tempo down, cleared up an arpeggio, and found easy fingerings for all of the trills- overall, a very productive day.

As she was cleaning out her clarinet, she was sure she heard the sound once again. Intrigued, she followed the sound, only to see a flash of color disappear behind a corner. Was it…red? Amy couldn't be sure, and before long Newton walked up to her. They clambered into Lance's old car, and it was soon forgotten.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
three hours earlier  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She really didn't know what she was doing.

Kimmy had changed into a pair of old (but still cute) sweats and an Avon Walk Against Breast Cancer shirt. She was checking the school directory, trying to find her way to the band room. She had never been there before, but the music soon guided her once she was within two hundred feet.

She was both fascinated and horrified.

So. Many. Nerds. In one place. And not just nerds- there were dorks, too, and geeks of all kinds.

Their forces had grown.

Kimmy shook her head. What was wrong with her? It must be this place. She dug through her purse until she found what she was looking for- her dad's old glasses. They were from his Halloween costume many years ago, when she still went trick-or-treating. He had been a lawyer, which Kimmy hadn't considered a very good costume at the time. Now, though, the glasses were helpful to her 'disguise'. She put them on, then huffed and took them off to clean them. This was why all the cheerleaders had contacts instead of glasses. Putting them back on, she pulled her bouncy hair up into a ponytail and took off a little of her makeup. She swapped her heels for tennies, and not quite sure what she was doing, she walked straight into the heart of nerddom for a glimpse of the strange Amy, who said that she would be practicing with her sections that day.

The problem was, she still didn't know where.

There were several rooms that branched off from the entrance, which was well-worn and needed a fresh coat of paint. She wandered around deserted rooms with mold and water-stained ceiling tiles until she found the room that Amy was in.

There was a broken section of plaster right next to the small door that led into the room with the ten horn-thingies… trumpets! They were called trumpets, Kimmy remembered.

They were all gathered in a small room, so damp that it could have been (and probably once was) a janitorial closet. They were all standing up (which Kimmy would have found extremely tiring after an hour), looking at metal sheets on tall sticks which were adjustable. Were they called music stands? She thought she saw a glimpse of a music sheet on one.

After a half an hour, she couldn't believe how perverted this 'Andre' was.

Perverted, but funny. She was having a hard time not laughing and blowing her 'cover'. She marveled at how Amy and Andre worked together to bring their section together. In the beginning, they had sounded terrible, even to an inexperienced ear like hers. By the end, however, they flowed in harmony, and worked together to create a wonderful brass sound.

Amy exited the room, and Kimmy followed her. _I hope I'm not becoming a stalker, _she thought, and tripped over the doorjamb while she was distracted.

Kimmy quickly ducked behind the door as Amy turned to see what had made the noise. A few moments later the water shut off and Kimmy could hear her approaching the door, so she ducked into a different room. She saw Newton and Amy say hi to each other as they went off to their bass and violin sections respectively, and Kimmy resumed her little adventure.

The violins were even more amazing than the trumpets. The room was just as cruddy, though- there were rat holes in the walls, and the room was so dimly lit it hurt her eyes. They must have anticipated this, though, for each of them had brought their own light. They were sitting now, but there weren't enough chairs so some of them were forced to sit on crates and boxes. The music, however, made you forget about the room.

With their flowing, sonorous strings, they called out like a choir. Kimmy couldn't quite believe it, but she was becoming a kind of band nerd. Perhaps this was her alter ego…?

The clarinets followed, after yet another trip and narrow escape on the doorjamb. Their sound was like a pleasant melody, a lullaby that Kimmy's mother sang to her when she was little. Soon, she found that they were done, and she was disappointed. Three hours still hadn't been enough… she was beginning to see how these people could become so absorbed in their music. Listening to it was one thing, but she wondered what it was like to play it?

She left the band room before Amy and Newton could appear. As she walked home, she took off her glasses and untied her hair. Stuffing them in her purse, she walked along the sidewalk thinking about how much of a leader Amy was, and how even high school students could make something so amazing and beautiful. She resolved to go to the next concert, and some part of her noted that she was going a little crazy…

_Kimmy. _

_It was Kimmy! _Amy realized with a start from her Chem homework. _She _did _come to watch me! _At that moment Amy wasn't sure if she was flattered or disturbed. She decided both, and resolved not to mention it to Kimmy. If she had wanted her presence to be known, she would have announced herself. She was obviously embarrassed to be seen caring about such a 'nerdy' subject. Amy chuckled to herself and went back to her homework. These earthlings sure were odd. She wondered if Kimmy had liked it.

"What are you laughing about?" Lance asked her from the other side of the couch.

"Oh, just a peculiar thing I saw today", Amy replied, and changed the subject. "So, I see that they have dances here just as on Galaluna."

Lance winced. "Don't remind me. They're torture."

Amy laughed. "So, who are you asking?"

"That's the worst part," Lance sighed. "It's girl's choice." His eyes suddenly sparked with a kind of hope. He looked at Amy with the eyes of a drowning man looking at a lifeboat. "Hey, little sister?"

Amy burst out laughing. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. I'm not asking you to the dance. There are plenty of other girls your age. If you find one that you want to go with besides me or Ilana, though, I'll try and get her to ask you, if you want," Amy offered.

Lance groaned and went back to his history homework. But Amy noticed something…a small frown playing on his lips…

"No way!" Amy squealed. Lance jumped. "You _do _like a girl!"

Lance scoffed, but Amy saw the tips of his ears turn slightly pink. "Don't be ridiculous", he said, looking away. Amy wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily, though, and he knew it.

"C'mon, who is it?" she asked. Lance stared straight ahead at his worksheet. "Laance!" Amy almost whined. "You know I'll figure it out eventually. And when I do…" Her eyes glittered evilly.

Lance sighed, knowing that it was better to come from him. "Well, I don't really like her…but she's nice. At least, she's not as annoying as the other girls here," Lance said. "I think her name is Kristen."

Amy frowned. "You _think_? What, haven't you ever talked to her?"

"Hey, what was the cause for the Boston Tea Party again?" Lance asked, changing the subject. Amy, knowing that she wouldn't get any more out of him, started explaining all the tax acts that the British had passed that outraged the colonies. She found American politics so interesting due to their simple stupidity. There was really no sense in all these factions.

Lance finished his homework and Amy went into the kitchen for a glass of water. She found Lance heading to the stairs when she came back. For some reason Amy didn't go any further into the living room, and that allowed her to see what happened next.

Lance, head down and hands in his pockets like he usually did, had just started on the first step of the fourteen-step staircase when Ilana came rushing out of her room and flying down the stairs. Seeing Lance, she tried to stop, but instead her feet flew out from under her and she fell face-first down the stairway.

Lance opened his eyes to see her flying toward him.

"Whoa", he said, catching her right before she slammed into him. Putting one hand on the rail to steady himself, he put his other arm around Ilana to catch her. This resulted in the very awkward position of her face pressed into his shoulder and her chest pressed to his. Her feet had finally caught up with her body, so she was standing of her own accord now. Her hands, which she had thrown out to catch herself, were balancing her weight on Lance's broad shoulders.

Needless to say, this was a rather…_compromising _position.

They were both blushing furiously, and their eyes had somehow met. They could feel each other's heartbeats, but they both thought that it was their own, as both were beating furiously.

From Ilana's view, this was actually rather comfortable… he was supporting her weight, and his rock-hard chest provided solid support. He smelled slightly of spice, probably rubbed off from Amy. Even though she was a step higher, he was still taller than her, and so in control…

From Lance's view, to be honest, he didn't know what to think. The princess of Galaluna was pressed against him, leaning into him, really. Her chest was pressed against his, and he was extremely (almost painfully) aware of that fact. Trying to draw his attention away from _that_ particular area, he noticed how his arm was still curled naturally around her back, to keep her from slipping. It fit perfectly, like lock and key…her eyes, which had been black when they had first come to Earth, were now the color of honey, a light brown mixed with warm yellow amber that reminded him of a burning fire. His breathing was shallow, and their faces were so close that he found himself thinking those same thoughts he had had less than a week ago at that shoe store. She smelled of lemons.

They held that position, neither knowing what to do, for what felt like a lifetime.

Finally, Lance cleared his throat rather awkwardly as he took his arm from Ilana's back. He didn't notice the slight flicker of disappointment that crossed her face as he helped her up. "Sorry", she mumbled. "I seem to be falling a lot lately."

"Falling down stairs", Lance joked, causing her to blush. She finally worked up enough nerve to continue (slowly) down the stairs, and Lance headed up to his room.

His door hadn't even closed when his little sister burst through it.

Her eyes were a deadly calm, like the eye of a hurricane, and her body position was extremely tense. She walked slowly over to Lance, and looking him straight in the eyes, asked, "What the hell was _that_?"

Lance started blushing furiously, realizing that she must have seen everything. His face immediately fell in shame. This was not part of the mission, to fall in love with the princess. It jeopardized everything. His head fell, like a small child being chastised by his mother for breaking a vase.

Silence. "I'm waiting for an answer, Lance."

"I don't know", he whispered. Was he happy? Sad? Angry? He couldn't tell himself.

"YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HER!" The shout wasn't what startled him. Hearing it out loud was a hard thing to do when you had been denying even thinking about it. It was a hard thing to accept, it was all so strange. Lance suddenly realized that the shout hadn't been furious, as he had been expecting.

He looked up at his little sister to find her completely ecstatic. Her eyes were sparkling with a determined fire, and her whole being was glowing with held in excitement.

Lance shook his head in disbelief. Only Amy.

"YOU ARE! I KNEW IT!" Lance could only hope that they couldn't hear her from downstairs. "Tone it down, will you?" he asked her with exasperation.

She plopped down next to him on the bed, and he placed his head in his hands and groaned. Amy chuckled, smiling somewhat sadly. "Oh, Lance, what am I going to do with you?" she whispered.

**Well, that one was long. 14 pages in Word, the story lengths seem to be increasing exponentially… I actually wanted to write more, but it would've turned into a twenty pager, and this was a good place to stop anyway. Remember, I can't promise any regular updates! I try, but I'm only a human…in any case, has anyone noticed Amy's pattern of speech? Kind of a Galalunian-modern-English mix. Three days into my five-day weekend, and I've gotten virtually no homework done (yay procrastination!). Well, gotta go. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW! It means soooo much! Thanks, and have a great day! **


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it wouldn't have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**Special thanks to: purpledragon6 and A Necessary Production, the ever-awesome fans. **

**Hello! So, I've been looking back at some of my old chapters, and I found some things that I had totally forgotten about. I'm kind of excited, because I'm thinking about expanding those areas in this chapter. Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you let me know how I did by REVIEWING? There are several of you who have started to follow the story and haven't written a single review…please, at least one would be fantastic, and it helps me to update faster. On a different note, I have discovered that, when reading these stories on my iPhone, the little squiggly things that I put (~~~) to indicate a change in time don't appear, so I'm changing it to this: -o-o-o- so that the letters will hopefully trigger the iPhone to show it in Google. Updating this in CCP again, and I even got ahead of Friday to write this. So easy… sorry, off topic. Enjoi, and REVIEW!**

Chapter 9

He put his head in his hands and felt Amy sit down next to him on his hard mattress.

_Love. _

_What is love, anyway? _Wondered Lance. He realized he was trying to distract himself from talking to Amy, but right now his mind was in such turmoil that he couldn't really sort anything out. _Love…I love Amy, but not it's not the same as how I feel when I'm around Ilana. _

_Is it physical? Emotional, mental? Am___I _mental? _Lance knew the answer to that question. He groaned, but before he could delve deeper into his brain, Amy asked him a question.

"Oh, Lance, what am I going to do with you?" she asked quietly, a silent, almost sad smile in her voice.

He sighed. "I don't know", he admitted.

Amy shifted on the bed to look at him. "It seems like there are a whole lot of things you don't know tonight."

Lance shrugged.

"Well, what do you know?"

Lance looked up at her, his eyes full of confusion. Amy saw how lost he was, wandering in a whole new land, on new terrain that he had never treaded before. "Well", he croaked, utterly discouraged. "That's the question, now, isn't it?"

Amy sighed, and wrapped her arms around him. This surprised Lance, but Ilana had truly accustomed him to physical touch, because after a moment he relaxed and leaned into her. Neither one of them realized that Amy was taking over the role of their mother, some of the same characteristics leaking into the way she moved about every day. And not just to Lance, either. To the whole trio, Amy was becoming an increasingly stable environment. Within the short time she had been with them, they already viewed her as a safe haven, whether they realized it or not. Amy sighed again.

"Well, let's start from the beginning."

-o-o-o-

After getting two warm glasses of milk, some crackers, and some chocolate (they didn't want to fill up before dinner), they plopped down in the two purple beanie bag chairs across from each other in Amy's room. They had just decorated it two days ago, and rather like her it looked like a mix between Lance's and Ilana's rooms. Some warm colors, some dark colors, mostly military with a kind of girly style, and everything neat and organized. Octus had somehow distributed some weird kind of color-changing pixels in the room so they could either set it one color or she could make it so her walls changed with her mood. Octus had said he was feeling "extra-decorative" that day, but he had really just finished watching reruns of "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" with Kimmy.

They both broke off a bar of chocolate and swapped with each other. It was an old practice from when they were little, but they had both forgot that they had done it until now. Neither one of them could remember why they did it, but apparently it had survived for ten years in their subconscious.

Chocolate. Some milk. Silence.

Neither one of them knew what to do. Amy might have been starting to act like their mother, but this was a totally new realm to her. Lance was waiting for Amy to speak.

Five minutes passed. Amy chugged down the last of her milk, and put the empty glass on a coaster. She sighed, and Lance echoed her.

She finally worked up enough courage to start. She was more nervous here, in her own room, with her own brother, than she was in enemy territory on the front lines. This was a whole new kind of battle. When it was a war, you could fight, and it was mostly physical. The battle of emotions and mentality was a war where, no matter how much aid your allies could give you, in the end you had to fight it alone.

"When did it start?"

Lance sighed. So, they were doing this after all… "I don't know", he told her. "I'm not sure it ever started, or that it even appeared. It just got to the point where I realized we were different , and when I tried to look back and find the source, all I could find were those little moments when I saw her smiling, and how every time her smile…" Lance paused, looking for the right words.

"Sparked something?" Amy suggested.

Lance grimaced. "Well, I wouldn't get that mushy, but sure."

He suddenly realized something. Motioning for Amy to be quiet, he wrote her a note that said, "Is this room secure? Octus?"

Amy nodded. She had taken care of that the moment she had walked in the room. She would be alerted if the wall was breached or if another way around it was used. Lance relaxed.

They resumed their (somewhat painful) quest. "So, it was her smile?" Amy could understand that. Even in her, Ilana's smile made her feel happy. She could only imagine what it would do to a boy.

"Well, it wasn't just her smile. Though, I will admit, that's a weapon that she doesn't know is in her arsenal." Amy mentally rolled her eyes. Lance was comparing love to war. _Then again_, she supposed, _they really aren't all that different_…

"It was the other things, too. The way she would do the little things- how I would come home from the grocery store, and she'd be hanging up the clothes on the clothesline even though we have a dryer, just so that they would 'smell like sunshine'. How I would come down from doing working out, and find that she baked a cake and put a smiley face on it with frosting. How she become so worried about a B on a test, just because it wasn't an A, and resolved to study even harder next time. How she always tried to make everything better for everyone, and never cared about herself. And her laugh…" Lance found himself in space.

Neither Amy nor Lance could believe he was being this open and detailed, even with her. It was as if he had been possessed by one of those teenage boys from a boy band that always writes love songs. Lance had been about to add to the list how Ilana's eyes sparkled when she got excited, but that was crossing the line, even in the mood he was in now.

Lance looked at Amy with a kind of desperate determination. "I don't love her, though. Maybe I like her, but I'm not in love with her."

Amy laughed in disbelief. "Look, Lance, I know this is hard for you. I know that falling in love with her could jeopardize her safety, or whatever friendship may have formed between you in the last year or so. But when it comes to love, being anything but realistic will just crush the both of you. I've seen how you are around her. You protect her not only as a guardian, but really as a lover. When she talks, you can't take your eyes off of her, however discreet you attempt to be. Whenever she is in any kind of danger at _all_, even if it's just a wet floor, you go into overdrive-protective-mode. When you don't know where she is, you freak, and even if you _do_ know where she is, if she's not by your side you're always wondering about her. You aren't ever really completely there for any of us except Ilana; you're in space when she's not there, and you aren't focused on anything but her when she is. I've found you smiling more, and it's in response to _her. _She's changed you, and you've changed_ for_ her. All of those things you just said? How it's the little things? Love is a puzzle, Lance, made up of puzzle pieces- and all of those little actions that she does that make you smile are the pieces falling into place. You find that it's becoming harder and harder to resist her when she asks you to do something, and harder not to become happy when you're around her. You want to make her happy. And, above all, you want to be happy…_with her._"

Lance gaped at her in disbelief at what she had just said. _Where had that come from? _

"Lance", Amy told him gently. "You're in love with her."

And he knew it was true. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, the inevitable evidence was staring him in the face constantly, and that evidence was a beautiful princess with blonde hair and eyes that had gradually turned green over their stay on Earth. The evidence was in Amy, who had just described perfectly what he felt every day.

Lance groaned. "Oh, man. You haven't even been here for a week. Is it really that obvious?" Lance looked as if he were to die of embarrassment. _What if Ilana knew? _He was going to have a heart attack. He started pacing the room.

"No, it's really not", Amy reassured him. "Look. I'm your sister, and despite how long we may have been separated, I always have and always will know you better than anyone else in the world will. As for Ilana, it's really quite amazing how oblivious she is. You may be hiding it fairly well, but I think she should have figured it out by now. She seems to be denying it just as you have, but not so much out of fear as out of disbelief. To be a princess, to be taught her whole life the 'right' way to go about dating, thinking that she'll end up with a nice prince from another country to unite their kingdoms, or for whatever other political reason- only to find something developing with a _soldier_? And not just any soldier, but _you_? No offense", she added quickly, seeing her brother's expression. "You're just not exactly the kind of person everyone must have been telling her she'd marry. It must seem highly impossible to her. But what she doesn't realize is that impossible is good. Impossible means that it just might work."

"So, no one knows." Lance sat back down in his chair.

Amy hesitated. Lance noticed, and a dread seeped back into him. "Who?" he demanded. "Is it Octus?" _If Octus knew…_Lance couldn't continue the thought.

"Well, no", Amy admitted. "It's only one person, too, but they know it's there and they know it's real. And before you get upset", she added quickly, "I did not tell them. Nor have I told anyone, and I am not planning to."

Lance was getting impatient. "Who?!"

"Well, you're not going to believe this, nor want this…" catching Lance's murderous glance, she quit stalling. "Kimmy", she sighed.

Lance screamed into her pillow. Loudly. _Good thing it's a dense pillow, _thought Amy.

Once he was done, he looked at her with a horrified expression. "How?" He asked.

"Well, I honestly don't know. I saw her glancing at you as we were talking today during lunch, and I saw something odd in her expression that I recognized. Something must have happened before I got here that showed her." Lance thought about the broccoli-cheese-soup dinner last Saturday night. "She realizes that you two are falling for each other, or that you already have." Amy paused, and a slight smirk appeared on her face. "I think she was worrying about incest…"

Lance could die. His face was both comical and pitiable. Their cover was as siblings, but if Kimmy was worried about _that _problem… he must have really been coming across as perverted, or at least way too strong.

"No, it's not like that", Amy said, reading his face. "She's a cheerleader. She's popular. Nothing against cheerleaders or popular people, but the way they live is different from ours- they're exposed to more… things." Amy hesitated. "I'm sure you've noticed how …close…she seems to be getting with Octus."

Lance flashed back again to the night Amy had crashed down, how just before at the door Newton and Kimmy…how they had…how Newton had… in spite of himself, Lance felt a small smile appear on his lips.

"But we're diverging. This is about the two of you, not the two of them."

Lance groaned. "I honestly think that's all I've got tonight", he told her.

Amy stared him down. "Fine", she sighed. "We'll continue this some other time." Lance groaned again. "Just one more question, then I'll go finish up dinner." (She had taken the role of chef when she was home- she was even better than Octus.)

"How are you going to deal with this?"

Lance looked at her blankly.

"Good", she said with a smile as she walked out to take off the stew.

**SOOOO SORRY! I can't believe this took two weeks! I was going to add more, but it would've taken longer. I have a huge project that I should have been working on instead of this… good thing for you readers that I'm a procrastinator. I believe this is one of my better ones, at least that one paragraph from Amy. Ugh, I'm so tired…but you don't want to hear about my problems- instead, review! Have a good day all **


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_****

Special thanks to: purpledragon6, the only one who reviewed the last chapter. Thanks also to jahnanahmohammed for the story follow and favorite and to Miss Kitty Chevious for the story follow. All you guys are awesome and should review this chapter!

**Hey all! You know, I'm really amazed at this; how happy writing this makes me. Whenever I open up a document to start another chapter, I forget all of my homework…the seventy-five pages I have to read tonight…the test…the **_**other **_**test…the vocab…whoa wait I have to do vocab before fifth period... Better get started on that…**

**So, this chapter is going to be kind of weird, it'll jump all over the place. Enjoy **** and review!**

Chapter 10

Lance was left sitting in a purple beanie bag chair, the walls constantly changing color to match his confusion.

He didn't know. He just didn't know.

He remained there for about twenty minutes. He registered Amy calling him for dinner, but he still couldn't move. He wasn't really hungry anyway.

A knock on the door. "Lance?" The door cracked open, and Ilana slipped through. "Amy told you I could find you in her room. Dinner's ready." She frowned at the look on his face, concern causing her eyebrows to pull together. "Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" Ilana quickly crossed the room and moved to put her hand on his forehead.

He caught her hand, back from his reverie. "Uh, no, I'm fine."

Her frown deepened, and she looked at him skeptically. She wasn't sure if she should believe him or not- his face made her feel like she shouldn't.

"Sure", she said to him. "Just come quickly. Dinner will get cold."

Lance's heart was about beating so hard he thought it would burst out of her chest. _How had she not noticed that?!_ Lance thought as he looked around at the walls linked to his emotions. The moment Ilana had walked in, the room had turned pink.

-o-o-o-

Dinner was over, and both Amy and Ilana were silent, their minds elsewhere. Dishwashing wasn't exactly the most attention-requiring activity in the world, and as Lance was upstairs working out and Octus was in his room going through further updates, both of the girls had a lot of room in their minds to think.

While Amy's thoughts were on her brother, Ilana's were on her father. The hologram that Amy had given her with her father had definitely shaken her up. To see him so rattled, so tired… it hurt her.

And there was something else, too. The King had told Ilana that there was a package for her- all she had to do was ask Amy.

With things being as hectic as they were, Ilana hadn't gotten a chance to ask the young girl for her parcel. Sure, they saw each other every day, but either Octus or Lance was always around too. Ilana didn't want Lance to know because he was, well, Lance. He would be worried about her. He was becoming more protective of her. And while Ilana might have enjoyed this a little (she had been worried for a little while that he didn't care), it could also be extremely annoying. He was always fretting over every little thing, and if he found out about the parcel… He knew how much Ilana loved her father, and therefore how big of an impact such a package could make on her. As for Octus…Ilana wasn't sure why she was worried about him. Perhaps she was just being paranoid.

But Ilana knew in her heart that that wasn't the reason. The reason was that she wanted to have something from her father, something from her planet that only she knew about. Something purely hers.

"Are you excited for our first tournament this Saturday?" Amy asked. She had sensed that something was on Ilana's mind.

"Oh, um, yes. I think it will be so much fun!" Ilana had really taken a liking to soccer. She had finally found a group of girls that could relate to her.

The conversation went on for a while, and they developed a rhythm to washing the dishes. Before long, though, the conversation had taken a turn to the topic of Galaluna, and eventually the King.

There was a pause, and Amy waited patiently while Ilana worked up the courage to ask the question: "Did my father send a package for me?"

Amy put down her dish and looked at Ilana. Taking off her gloves, she said, "Yes. I would've given to you sooner, but someone was always around." Amy walked over to where her bag lay, and started searching through it.

"You won't tell Lance, will you?" Ilana asked, her head down. She didn't like keeping secrets, but…she thought she deserved at least one when everyone else seemed to be harboring so many.

"Of course not, don't worry, princess", Amy responded reassuringly. "Believe me, I know how he is. This is your secret to keep. Oh, here it is." Amy pulled out a small box crudely wrapped in dirty brown paper. "Your father told me to tell you that he apologizes about its appearance, but it was the best he could do at the time."

"Oh, that's fine", Ilana breathed, her eyes locked on the package. Taking it from Amy's hands, she started towards the stairs, but then looked back at the dishes guiltily.

Amy laughed, a light sounds that rang like bells. "Don't worry, princess. I'll finish them up. Go."

"Thanks", Ilana said gratefully as she flew up the stars and into her room.

-o-o-o-

Ilana slid a finger in between the tape and the wrapping. Breaking the seal, she removed the brown paper and opened the box. On the very top was a card with a blank cover. Ilana opened the card, and out fluttered four small photos. Picking them up, Ilana examined them and smiled. The first was a picture of Galaluna before the war, with its beautiful rolling fields and orchards bearing fruit and its three moons faded in the light of day with the palace glistening in the background. The second photo brought tears to her eyes as both happiness and agony flooded through her. The faces of about twenty war-ravished warriors with torn and bloody uniforms smiled at her, and they were holding up a small make-shift banner that said, "stay safe princess". She spotted a few familiar faces, including the royal guard and Hobbs, who almost had a kind of smirk on his face, as if to say, "and by this, we mean not to fall down any wells". Ilana laughed- that joke would never get old. She also spotted a small, chubby boy with red hair and glasses that she thought Lance had told her about once. Armin, August? She couldn't remember. Even Baron was there.

The third picture was of her and her father, just a couple of days before the invasion. They had just gotten out of a meeting with Galaluna's top officials, so Ilana was in her best dress and her father in his best suit. _He looked so spiffy_, remembered Ilana. Turning to the fourth picture, she gasped.

Her mother.

Tears flowed once more down her face as Ilana looked at the picture. Her mother and her father were both young, and both staring down at a tiny bundle wrapped in blankets in her mother's arms. _Me, _Ilana realized. Her mother had striking blue eyes and blond hair, her complexion fair. Ilana wiped her eyes and moved on to the card.

"My dearest Ilana", read her father's handwriting. "I have enclosed these pictures to remind you of home. The one with your mother is to remind you that you she will always be protecting you, no matter where you go. The one of us I found and thought you'd like- I remembered that you really enjoyed my suit. The one of Galaluna is to let you remember our planet in all of its glory. Finally, the one of the soldiers is to encourage you to keeping fighting your battle just as we are fighting ours.

"There are so many things that I wish to say to you that I just can't fit on this card, so I've only included the most important. I love you. I love you. I love you. Stay safe. Be strong, be brave- but not all the time. Break down every once in a while- it's fine, it's healthy. Heaven knows I have. Go to Amy, or to Octus, or even go to Lance. Remember that we are always thinking about you, and we wish you the best.

"Consider all your options.

"I love you so very much, my princess. Love, Dad."

Ilana 's eyes watered and she whispered, "I love you too, Dad."

She had to admit, though, that last line puzzled her. 'Consider all your options'?

Fishing around inside the box, Ilana found one small object among the packaging paper. Pulling it out, she saw that it was yet another box- a jewelry box. Inside was a small charm bracelet, which the princess remembered it as her mother's. On it were three small charms- heart, body, and mind.

Ilana wept.

-o-o-o-

"One thousand", Lance grunted as he dropped from the bar on his ceiling and started his push-ups. Fifty in, he stood up and pulled off his shirt. Sweat dripped down his six-pack and beaded on his forehead as he resumed his work.

One hundred and fifty push-ups and three hundred crunches later, Lance plopped down on his hard mattress and chugged down some water. He combed his damp hair back as he rummaged through his backpack, resigning the rest of the night to homework. As he sat down at his desk and reviewed the Hundred Days' war, the end of Napoleon's reign, he thought he heard stifled sounds coming from Ilana's room. Worried, he got up to go check on her, but Amy chose that moment to walk in.

"Hey", she said. She had a look on her face like there was something that she knew, an almost non-existent look that would be lost to anyone else but him. Before he could ask, though, she sidetracked him with the Earthlings' war tactics, and before long he sat back down at his desk and forgot about the sounds that had once come from Ilana's room. Once they were done, Lance finished the rest of his homework, showered, and laid down on his bed. Before long he passed out, covers off, hair wet, exhausted by everything that day had thrown at him.

-o-o-o-

Ilana had stifled her sobs after a few minutes. She heard Amy and Lance in his room, and silently thanked her for distracting him. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get to sleep, and had nothing to do since she had finished all of her homework before dinner. She got ready for bed and lay down under her covers, tears silently streaming across the sides of her face, as her exhaustion slowly pulled her under.

"_Oh, be quiet!" Ilana laughed as she sat in the pod headed back to the palace. _

"_Oh, so you're telling me it's not true?" Her father countered with a sly grin plastered on his face. "Excuse me", he said, pinching his nose in a nasally voice, imitating a condescending Governor of one of the states of Galaluna. "I believe we can't carry out your plan, due to the large level of insecure chimpanzees in our population." _

Ilana doubled over in laughter. She had never heard such a ridiculous objection as the Governor had presented today, and the whole room had had a hard time keeping their laughter in while he had turned beet red and started screaming that it was a completely valid reason to not clear up the rivers _surrounding the capital city. _

_The King's deep rumble shook the pod as well, and the two laughed all the way home. _

_The scene changed. _

_Suddenly, Ilana was seated at the table in the great hall. Mountains of presents surrounded her, all having been checked by security to ensure their safety, and then carefully wrapped back up. Already she had gotten tons of candy, mounds of stickers, and rows upon rows of cards. The five-year-old Ilana had read every last one, and squealed as a beautiful white pony was led into the hall. _

"_Happy birthday, darling", her father said, chuckling at the look of complete ecstasy on his young daughter's face. "She's all yours."_

_Many other scenes flashed in Ilana's mind. Her first ribbon-cutting, the first time she had to rescue a pet from a well, meeting Hobbs, the Harvest Festival…all of her happiest memories of Galaluna flew through her mind. _

Ilana woke with a start, panting and upright. She looked at the clock. It was two AM. For the last time that night, the princess cried for her planet.

-o-o-o-

Lance woke and looked at the clock.

Two.

_Funny, I thought I broke this habit, _thought Lance. A noise came from directly under him- Amy was up, too. He considered going downstairs and having cookies with his little sister like they used to do, but he stopped when he heard the same muffled noise from earlier that night. It came from Ilana's room, and in a second Lance was out of his bed and outside Ilana's room, forgetting that he was only wearing boxers. The sound was definitely coming from the princess' room.

He knocked lightly and cracked the door open. "Ilana?" he whispered as he entered.

He saw her crying and was by her side in a flash.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt? Ilana?" The worry in Lance's voice was heavy as he took her hand. Embarrassed, she tried to stop crying, but seeing the worry in his eyes and the pictures on her desk only made her weep harder.

Which, consequently, made Lance worry even more.

"Heeeey, Ilana, what's the matter?" He could tell that it wasn't anything physical, as she wasn't cradling any part of her body, and as she had tried to stop when he had come in. She shook with her sobs, and the tears streaming down her face sparkled in the moonlight. With his other hand, Lance tried to wipe some away with his thumb, but they were replaced just as quickly.

"Ilana?" he whispered. He was so worried he couldn't stand it. He wanted to go get Amy or Octus, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her.

She turned her face into his shoulder and cried. After a moment's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, and she did the same. Some part of her brain registered that he was pretty much naked, dressed only in his boxers. His hard, cold chest became wet with her tears, and his long, wildy-dried hair cascaded over her face as he looked down at her sadly.

She cried into him for a long time. Her father's words rung in her head. _Break down every once in a while- it's fine. Heaven knows I have. Go to Amy, or go to Octus, or even go to Lance._ Or even Lance…

"Ilana…"

A small whisper by a princess in the night. "I miss home."

**Okay, so, this one wasn't nearly as long as the others but I didn't want to keep the pattern I'm developing and have it be three weeks before another update. I thought this one was kind of bittersweet, though definitely not my best, sorry…**

**During the course of writing this, I got a PM from a story follower. In it were the following suggestions: **

**-More Lance (which I tried to do a little here)**

**-Change the wording in chapter three where Lance is carrying Amy in to the house from 'careful not to jostle his load' to something else. **

**This last one cracked me up. I hadn't even thought of this… what a naughty mind… I apologize to anyone whose reading experience of chapter three was ruined by my poor wording. I fixed it. **

**I also updated a lot of other chapters, so sorry if you story followers got 'new chapter' alerts… **

**I ALWAYS try to update ASAP, but I'm only human and have, like, eight hours of homework every night, so… whether it be a day or a month *cough*month*cough* I will try my best. **

**REVIEW! **


	11. Chapter 11

DISCLAIMER:

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it wouldn't have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**Special thanks to: A Necessary Production and the 'bringer twins' (Dawnbringer and Duskbringer) for reviewing the last chapter- you guys (or girls) are great!**

**Hola! So, I got a lot of requests for things to incorporate in this chapter (but some of the things I'll have to incorporate into next, because it won't all fit in this chapter), which is super awesome, because this story is for both the fans and myself- and seeing as how I'm pretty happy with how this is going, I now live to serve you! Well, not really….child labor is a terrible thing…So read, enjoi, and especially, REVIEW!**

Chapter 11

The sun streamed in lightly through Ilana's window, and it fell upon the sleeping faces of two teenage Galalunians. The Corporal's eyelids fluttered, and he yawned lightly as he opened his eyes and found himself slumped against the wall with the Princess leaning against him. He smiled lightly, not fully awake yet. She looked exhausted- with the dried salty trails of the previous night's tears running down her cheeks and her hair all wild, Lance didn't really want to get her up- but she'd never forgive him if he let them be late. "Ilana", he whispered softly, gently shaking her. "Wake up. We have to get ready for school."

"Huh?" she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

She froze at the sight of Lance in her bed, virtually naked. She flushed a deep red, and Lance, suddenly realizing the situation, jumped up from her mattress.

"Gah", he said, cringing and rubbing his neck. A huge kink had formed. He had to stop falling asleep like that. Still beet red, he mumbled, "I'm gonna go get ready." With that, he hurried out of her room, leaving her wishing that she hadn't made him leave… and wondering why.

-o-o-o-

That day, school was fairly uneventful.

Amy had after-school practice for marching band from three to seven, so Lance had taken Ilana home. Octus, however, had stayed- he had planned a picnic for him and Kimmy, as Friday afternoons were one of the few times that their schedules didn't conflict.

Just as the marchers were taking the field, Kimmy showed up. "Hey", she said, and went to sit down on the small patch of grass that Newton had set up the picnic on. With a large red-and-white blanket and a basket with all of Kimmy's favorite foods in it, it was pretty adorable to the cheerleader. "Thanks for setting all of this up" she said with a smile as she gave him a small peck. "You are welcome. I have been looking forward to this all day long". Newton tried to add some excitement to his typical monotone, and it must have been just the response that Kimmy wanted. Her face glowed.

Three turned to four, and four turned to five, and five even turned to six and they were still talking and occasionally munching. About school, about band, about cheerleading. About friends- a lot about friends, actually. A whole lot of gossip about who was going to ask who to the Spring Dance, and even more gossip about what they were going to wear. It had gotten cold, and as Kimmy had come straight from cheerleading, she was dressed only in her skimpy uniform. Octus had seen it in movies before, so he took off his jacket and put it over her. He was able to materialize it from a hologram while Kimmy wasn't looking, and even managed to heat it with some electricity as if he actually had body heat himself. As Newton draped his jacket over her shoulders, she grinned widely, eyes sparkling. She pulled him into a kiss, and as they drew closer Octus felt a new sensation spark inside his programming. He wasn't sure what it was, but he thought that it was a new program from the upgrade the King had enclosed with his holo-message.

As the kiss grew longer, Octus' new program kicked into overdrive. Something made him enclose her in his arms, and for some reason his vision focused on how tight her torso area appeared in her uniform. He broke away from their kiss just long enough to whisper "I love you", and Kimmy firmly pressed her lips back down on his to tell him the feeling was mutual.

Just an alien robot and a high school cheerleader, kissing on a picnic blanket on a small patch of grass.

-o-o-o-

As the last note came to a close, the marchers all held their (extremely uncomfortable) poses until their drum major, Alexa Page, put down her hands. Then, unable to stand in their awkward positions any longer, they all collapsed on top of each other, laughing. Of course, they took care not to fall on the instruments- anything but the instruments. That was always Mr. Gerome's first rule- save the instruments.

Which was a considerable paranoia considering that the cheapest baritone saxophones are no less than $3,500, the case alone averaging $220.

The dog pile just grew as the mountain shook with laughter even harder. Abandoning their instruments, every member of the Wildcat Marching Band ran to jump onto the growing mass. "Hrmph, grrm fff", mumbled a disgruntled clarinetist. Octus recognized the voice, and determined that the grunt was supposed to be, "Hey, get off". Newton saw Amy at the very bottom of the pile, and chuckled as he started to walk over. Her heart rate was elevating- he could guess what was coming next.

With a muffled roar, the whole pile suddenly lifted up. The people on the top slid off towards the bottom, and the people on the bottom started rocking back and forth.

Naturally, Amy had lifted the growing pile of band members from the bottoms and slid them all off her shoulders. "Ah, that's better," she said as she picked up her clarinet. The groans around her turned into giggles, which quickly turned into laughter. Andre could be heard guffawing the loudest of all, and Amy laughed at him as she helped him and the others up.

"How the hell did you do that?!" Andre demanded, brushing himself off and glaring at her. A senior boy wasn't supposed to be thrown by a junior girl. Any girl, really.

"Awww, did I hurt wittle Andre?" Amy teased.

"Just his ego", joked Patrick, a sophomore drummer. Andre growled and punched Amy playfully in the arm.

"You just got lucky", he said, and Amy laughed even more. He ruffled her hair and she fixed his collar line, and they walked back to the band room.

Octus- or, rather, Newton- was waiting for Amy outside of the band room. "Hey, Newton", a couple of kids said. Since joining the music program, Newton had started being recognized as someone else instead of just "that bulky nerd". The fact that he was constantly around Amy didn't hurt, either, and some of the overexcited freshmen even gave the robot high-fives, stoked that an upperclassmen wasn't just ignoring them.

"…And then I said, 'that's not what you do with a pickle jar'!" Hearing Andre's voice, Newton turned, knowing Amy wouldn't be very far behind. The two trumpets had grown very close in the week they had known each other. Newton could see them walking up the steps to the band room.

Amy just stared at Andre with an exasperated expression. "You're hopeless", she told him, and he grinned even wider. She turned and saw Newton. "Hey", she said with a smile. "How was your picnic with Kimmy?"

"Very nice", he said. "I think she had a good time."

Amy seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Good. I'll be ready to go in a sec. Just let me grab my stuff and say bye."

"Very well", said the robot, and waited for her outside. She came out shortly after, cheeks flushed and grinning broadly. The two started towards the car and drove home.

-o-o-o-

The ride home was fairly silent.

Octus could sense Amy's brainwaves. He knew she was contemplating whether or not she should ask him a question. "Yes?" he asked her. Amy sighed.

"Do you love her?"

Octus stiffened.

"My programs have adapte-"

"I know they have", Amy said softly. "I'm not asking whether or not you're capable. I think we both know that you are. I'm asking if you _do._"

Octus relaxed a little and seemed to think. Or process, or whatever. After a short silence, he said with almost tenderness, "Yes. I believe so."

Amy looked out the window, and her eyes became far away. A faint smile ghosted upon her lips. That was all she needed to hear.

-o-o-o-

It was Sunday afternoon, and the door burst open. Amy looked up to see a middle-aged woman with rather bulbous red hair and a bulging waist storm into the living room, demanding that Lance tell her where Mr. Lunis was.

Amy looked at Lance cautiously. _Is she a security threat? _She silently asked him, and he shook his head as if the only threat she posed was to his sanity. Which Amy would later find true.

The woman marched straight up to Amy. "So, YOU'RE the newest Lunis!"

"Yes", Amy replied calmly from her history homework. She had a feeling that today was about to get a lot more interesting.

"I'm Barb", said the middle-aged woman, smiling broadly and sticking out her hand. Amy shook it. "'Oh, we have so much to talk about!" Barb squealed. "There are so many stories going around-" she stopped when she saw Amy's combat boots. She frowned with distaste. "I see that you have your brother's sense of style. Oh, honey, we need to get you to the mall."

Amy cocked her head in confusion. "Mall?"

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Barb cried out in exasperation. She turned toward Mr. Lunis, who had appeared in the kitchen doorway. "What's up with your girls and the mall?! Come on, Amy. It's time for me to show you where we belong."

And with that Amy allowed Barb to drag her out the door and to the mall. Lance watched her worriedly, and Ilana with amusement. The young girl figured it'd be an adventure, and a chance to learn more about the Earth's culture. She could finish her homework when she got home.

**Hey guys! Sorry this took so long. I was going to make it longer, but I'm about to pass out and I've still got stuff to do. So, next chapter will have a major event and some backstory. Sorry that there wasn't really any Lance this chapter. It was more about Octus and Kimmy. Octimmy? Koctus? Someone help me, I'm drowning…**

**LOL THE MALL. And what's up with Andre? Why was Amy grinning and blushing when she came out? I want YOU, the fans, to tell me: should I ship Amy and Andre? Should Lance get protective? Or turn out to like Andre? Or both? You decide!**

**So, in the course of writing this chapter, I wrote a one-shot called "Haircut". And, yes, Lance cuts his hair. Anyway, I had fun with it, so I'm going to offer up a contest: the first person to review this chapter gets to tell me what kind of one-shot to write. Give me the general plot, some characters, and what to do with it. I will do absolutely anything, and will try my best, but I have one condition and one condition only- I will not write about Amy in a one-shot suggested by a fan. Sorry, but I'm really super-over-protective of her. She's MINE, and YOU CAN'T HAVE HER! Sorry. No. Other than that, I will do absolutely anything. First request after this is published gets it. BUT YOU HAVE TO REVIEW, TOO! And it has to be a legit review. Legitness judged by moi. I'll PM you if you win. **

**So, may the fastest reviewer win! **


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER**

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**Special thanks to: Champagne and pomegranates, A Necessary Production, purpledragon6, BluldDreamer, and one other person that I can't find in my e-mail that started following the story. You know who you are. **

**So, this is just a little short suggested to me by A Necessary Production. Ilanca, and it's about their awkward drive home when Amy was at marching band and Octus was picnicking with Kimmy. Kind of funny, pretty romantic. The restaurant's name in Italian actually means 'food' :D haha. Read, review, and enjoy!**

Chapter 12

"So, what are Octus and Amy doing, again?" Ilana asked Lance as they walked out to the grandma-mobile, an affectionate nickname for the boring old car Lance and Octus had fixed up around the time they met Mike Chan.

"Well, Amy's got marching band practice-" at this Lance made a face, and Ilana smiled- "and Octus is having a picnic with Kimmy. He's driving Amy home once they're finished."

Ilana thought about that for a second. "When can Amy get her license?"

"Well, legally, it'll be about another year before she can drive herself, but she's too independent. She'll probably march right into the DMV soon and pull some strings."

Ilana got in the car, strapped in, and looked at her guardian curiously as he started the car. "But how…?"

Lance chuckled. "You'd be amazed at the things she can do." As always, his eyes softened when he talked about her, and a soft smile appeared on his lips as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Who would've thunk?" Ilana wondered aloud, using a common Earth phrase that she had picked up somewhere.

Now it was Lance's turn to look confused. "What?"

"The big, scary corporal has a soft side."

Lance blushed and looked at the road. "You don't know me as well as you think you do", he said softly.

A silence filled the car as the truth of his statement dawned on them both. They really didn't know each other. After a year of living together, being the only ones along with a robot that bore the responsibility of a planet, they only knew what they saw on the outside. They had barely scratched the surface of their painful pasts, and even the areas that weren't touchy had been avoided. Ilana shifted in her seat and looked at Lance with a new determination.

"Then tell me."

-o-o-o-

Of course, Lance had objected at first. Strongly. His past was a touchy subject, and while Ilana didn't know much about it, she certainly knew that he didn't feel comfortable talking about it. But something in her eyes, that desperate determination, made him feel like she had a point. They had been living together for a year, and they hardly knew who they really were. Sure, they knew the obvious, pointless things. Favorite colors, favorite foods, things that had developed since they had come to Earth (some of which, granted, were neither pointless nor obvious). But they really didn't know what made them _them. _Ilana had only heard vague reasons from her father long ago as to why Lance was so reserved, and Lance had absolutely no clue why Ilana was always so optimistic, even in the most negative situations. In short, they knew a little of the _who, _but no _why. _

So, after the umpteenth time of asking, as they stopped at a red light, when Ilana looked at him again with those desperate eyes and said "Please", he didn't resist.

Lance sighed. "Fine", he said under his breath.

Ilana's eyes lit up and she smiled broadly. As always, Lance grinned like an idiot at that smile. Someone honked from behind them. "Hey, buddy, it's a green light!" Lance blushed and turned his attention back to the road.

They got home and Lance walked to the kitchen, hungry. He took some Bisquick out of the cupboard, and started to make some fried chicken.

Lance focused intently on the instructions, trying to prevent Ilana from starting the conversation that they both knew they might regret. But Ilana wasn't one to give up. They both knew that.

"Start from the beginning", she said casually as she grabbed the eggs.

"Well," said Lance, "when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much...just kidding, just kidding", Lance said to a disgruntled Ilana.

The princess clarified. "Perhaps start a little later than that."

"Well, where do _want_ me to start?" Lance was already getting impatient.

"The first significant moment in your life- _besides _your baby moments."

Lance didn't even have to think. "When Amy was born."

Ilana looked at him oddly. "You were two- how can you remember that?"

Lance shrugged. "It's not something you easily forget. Suddenly I was a big brother, and there was someone else in our family. Somehow I remember mom pulling me aside and telling me that I was going to have to watch out for her, though I think she didn't think I understood what she was saying."

Ilana watched in amazement as Lance continued the story without even hesitating at the mention of his mother. "When she got old enough to walk, I would take her everywhere. She learned quickly, and we would always play together. She loved Tyrenball- you know, Galaluna's soccer. My first day of school we all walked to the building, me and mom and dad and Amy. And her first day of preschool I was right by her side until she entered the door. We were always like that, inseparable." Lance's face darkened. "And then mom…"

The oven beeped, and Lance put in the battered chicken. Ilana set the timer and followed Lance into the living room. They plopped down next to each other on the couch.

Lance hesitated. Ilana lowered her voice. "What happened to her?"

Lance looked up with those dead eyes- the same he had used when he thought Amy was going to die, or whenever he was about to say something that caused him pain. He just turned himself off. "I don't know."

Ilana stared at him, dumbstruck. Wait, what…? "Then, what….?"

Lance sighed heavily, and Ilana thought she might have sensed something like disgust in it. "We were too young, too sad to question it. One day mom had gone out, and when dad came home from work and hung up his hat, he said that mom was gone. We never saw her again. He said she had died, and the few times we asked him how, he just turned and walked away. We couldn't even grieve knowing how our mother passed away", he said bitterly. "Her name…her name was Rachel."

Ilana sat there in complete astonishment. Lance's father wasn't turning out to be the great hero that the King had painted him. A great scientist…a brilliant mind…a terrible father.

"You pretty much know the rest up to Amy's…disappearance." Ilana remembered how Lance told her that they took their mother's loss pretty hard, and the story of Amy's kidnapping. "The funeral was kind of weird. I've blocked out most of it, but there are some parts I remember. Mom's family didn't come- I don't even think dad told them that she died. Instead there were a bunch of strange men huddled around dad, talking. He didn't even seemed sad that he had just lost his wife. He just worked more and more to get away from it."

"When Amy disappeared, the house became dead and lonely. Dad was still working late, and probably would've worked even more if it was physically possible. His love for his work dwindled, and it became more like a problem to solve than a job to have fun at. He used to love science… I would go to school, but I became more separated. I was never very social in the first place, but when mom died, and then Amy, I shut myself off completely. Even if the other kids had stopped staring and pointing at the kid who had just lost his two best friends, I probably would've still ignored them."

Ilana's eyes were starting to water. Noting this, Lance stopped double-checked the timer they had set for the chicken. Ilana grabbed a Kleenex and dabbed at her eyes. "No, don't stop, please. Continue."

"I… I don't want to make you cry", Lance mumbled , looking down.

Ilana smiled sadly. "Please?"

Lance sighed. "It was only about a year after Amy disappeared that dad went, too. I remember that the night before, dad had said he was on the verge of a breakthrough. I was too tired to notice, but looking back he seemed to be extra excited…and anxious. The next day during school, our political science teacher told us that today a great scientist was about to break the laws of physics. Then, looking at me excitedly, she said it was my dad. I was dumbstruck. I think she asked me if I wanted to tell the class a little about it, but before I knew it I was out of the classroom and running towards dad's work. There was one thing… there was just one thing that could've made dad so excited. That would bread the laws of physics. I remember thinking that he couldn't be trying…but he was."

Here the timer rang, and Lance went to take out the chicken, turn off the oven and put the dish on a cooling rack. When he came back, he continued. "I managed to speed past all the guards, and arrived at dad's laboratory right as he was about to step through the rift gate. I asked him not to. He just looked at me, and my last memory of my father was stepping through a portal to nowhere, saying 'everything will be alright'." Lance paused, and said darkly, "That's the last lie he ever told."

Lance looked over to see the tears streaming silently down her face, her horrified expression staring straight ahead. Never…never in her life had she heard something so terrible. Something so heartbreaking, so devastating. Within three years of his life a seven-year-old boy had lost his whole family, everyone he loved, and had been sent to a military school. And she had thought her story sad.

"Ilana…" Lance whispered sadly. He looked down. "I knew this was a bad idea. I'm….I'm sorry." He got up to go cut the chicken.

She grabbed him and pulled him back down on the couch, hugging him close to her.

This caught him so off-guard that he couldn't stop her. Before he knew what was happening, she was squeezing him with more strength than he thought she had, the tears slowing. He knew he wouldn't get away, and frankly, he didn't want to. So he just sat there awkwardly, and eventually he lightly hugged her back.

"I-I- I had no idea", Ilana hiccupped. "I thought you were just a grumpy old corporal, who blamed everyone else for his own reservation. I thought you blamed the world just because you got dealt a bad card. I thought-" she paused. That one shouldn't be said out loud.

Lance smiled sadly and moved a piece of hair back from her face. This was interesting…this was good. He needed to know all the bad things she thought about him so he could prove them wrong. He had to make her happy. "You thought?"

She looked down in shame. "I thought you were a selfish brat who had no concern for others and didn't even care about the fact that you had absolutely no one."

He had to admit, that one stung a little. The only reason he appeared the way he was was because he worked so hard to hold everything back- the grief, the pain, the anger. Sometimes the anger got away from him.

"But…that was before I actually met you", she murmured, her tears gone now.

And she looked up to see the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.

Who could have thought that such a moody boy, with so much anger, so much frustration, so much misery could have such a beautiful smile? The moment slowed, and Ilana could sense everything- his perfectly straight white teeth, his cologne that Ilana loved (considering she had bought it for him last Christmas), the way that his skin pulled perfectly over his cheekbones, curling around the edges of his slightly squinted eyes to form little laugh lines, how his bangs came down just slightly to shade his left eye… Ilana felt her heart flutter in her chest, and then start beating like a stamped of wild buffalo. Her breathing shortened.

Lance's reaction was similar. He saw her face go white when she saw him smiling. His heart surged and he felt lightheaded. It would be so easy right now, just to lean in and press his lips to hers. He almost thought she might kiss him back.

But he was scared. Like Amy had said. He was afraid of losing what he and Ilana had grown in the past year. _But what, _he thought, _what if what we've been developing has been for this purpose? Has all been leading up to this? _But there were too many what-ifs. He wasn't ready yet, and he knew that that was crucial. To be ready. He'd think things over tonight, and maybe sometime soon he'd talk to Amy. Because he couldn't control love. And that scared him.

"I'll go dish out the chicken", he said, getting up from the couch. He missed Ilana's look of disappointment as he went into the kitchen.

-o-o-o-

"So, what about you?" he asked.

Ilana looked up from her food, confused. Lance clarified: "Start from the beginning."

She blushed and, swallowing her food, said: "It's not as bad as yours."

"I would hope it wouldn't be. But something had to have happened for you to be so happy all the time."

Ilana looked down, and her voice dropped as she said, "I'm not, really. That is, I'm not really happy all the time. Sometimes I just miss home so much, I miss dad, I miss my people…I miss mom."

The 'm' word.

Ilana could sense Lance's curiosity. Which was understandable. Neither one of them talked about their moms very often- at all, really. And as Lance had uncovered _his _painful past, it was time for her to reveal hers.

She started with sad eyes. "Even though you would've only been three, I'm sure you remember the whole…situation…with the queen." Lance nodded. The whole kingdom had been in an uproar because the queen had suddenly vanished off the face of the planet. The Galalunian government had later said that Queen Elizabeth had been assassinated, and that it had been kept a secret because they had been hunting down the assassins. The whole kingdom had grieved, and the murderers were never caught.

"Well, it was a lie."

Lance reeled.

"While Galaluna has a great government, nothing is perfect. There were certain standards and procedures that covered an event such as what happened, and they were followed down to the letter. What really happened…is…" Ilana started sobbing. "She left us, Lance. One day we woke up and she was just… gone. Her guards had said that she was going for a walk … but she never came back. Our top scientists researched the area… including your father." Lance blinked. Yes, his father tended to come home extra late during that panic with the queen. "They determined that she wasn't kidnapped. She left…all by herself. With no reason. No note. No good-bye." She couldn't continue- her body was convulsing with sobs.

Now it was Lance's turn to embrace her. They stayed like that for a little while, until Ilana calmed down. Lance poked a piece of chicken on her fork and held it out to her. "Eat", he ordered. She took a couple of bites.

Silence.

"I'm sorry", he said quietly. His mother might be gone for sure, but at least she hadn't left of her own free will. That Lance knew of. They both had different types of grief.

"Me too."

After a while, Amy and Octus got home. Lance could tell that Amy and Octus had had a talk, because Octus seemed… thoughtful. When it got dark, Lance shrugged on his leather jacket and opened the door. Ilana came down the stairs. "Where are you going?" she asked quietly.

"For a walk," Lance replied. Ilana hesitated. "Do you want to come?" Lance offered.

Ilana smiled. "Let me put on some shoes. I'll be down in five."

-o-o-o-

They walked in silence. The dimly lit street seemed eerie, so they veered towards the park. They came across a bench and sat down. After a little while the night started to flicker. "Look", Ilana breathed to Lance. Lance looked up to see a meteor shower, silvery sparks flying across the sky.

They watched it for a while, and at one point Ilana rested her head on his shoulder. "Don't fall asleep," he whispered, and she smiled slightly. They had been doing that too much lately. Once it was over, they stayed on the bench for a couple of minutes until Lance noticed Ilana shivering. He looked at her with concern. "We should get you home. You shouldn't get sick."

"N-N-No", Ilana chattered. Lance frowned. "I want to stay here", she insisted.

He smiled in disbelief. "One moment", he said, standing up.

Ilana suddenly wasn't cold anymore- heat spread throughout her body as she saw Lance taking off his jacket. She was already warm by the time he draped it around her shoulders.

He sat back down, and she rested her head once more on his shoulder, and as her eyes grew heavier, she fell asleep. Lance chuckled quietly when he noticed this.

He picked her up and carried her home.

**Awww cute! I liked this one. Thanks again to A Necessary Production for this idea. **

**No contest this time. Maybe next time, I'm not sure. But if I do have one in the future, just know: you can't be a guest to ask for the oneshot. I would have to be able to PM you. **

**Important things in the story: **_**EDWARD'S HAT**_**. This will become obvious in the future as to why it is important. Also, obviously, the jacket. So adorable! And how Ilana's mom just walked away, and how Lance doesn't know **_**how**_** his mom died. The last scene was pretty much copied from my other story, "Haircut". **

**Note- there are still more things about both of their pasts that will be crucial to the story that were not revealed in this chapter. MANY more things. **

**I am so amazed at all of the support that this story is getting. I have never gotten a single bad review (though I have gotten suggestions), and everyone that has reviewed seems to love it. People are enthusiastic! I'm so ecstatic! I love writing this- I pour in my heart and soul. And people like it! I just wanted to thank all of you who read this, and especially those who review. You are all so wonderful, and this story probably wouldn't exist without you. And, just to those who haven't noticed- I AM GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT! Punctuation, capitalization, and all of that stuff. Grammar freak, haha. **

**Please review- it really helps the updating process! I love you all (metaphorically speaking)! I hope all of you have a wonderful day!**


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**Hey guys! So, I'm super depressed right now. I looked online at my score for my math midterm, and I got a 100. Great, right? WRONG. 100 out of 140. C-. Unnecessary euphoria that leads to extreme depression…**

**On the other hand, I just got home from the movie version of my favorite book ever. It was okay, but no movie ever really does justice to the book. It's called **_**The Host**_**, by Stephenie Meyer. You should all read it, it's fantabulous. **

**Read, review, enjoy, and pray that I get into college with the road that I'm going down for math… some physics teacher I'll be…**

Chapter 13

And to think Amy thought "shop till you drop" was just an expression.

Barb had loaded her down with bags for shoes, shirts, pants, jeans, belts, socks- yes, _socks- _and every kind of accessory you can imagine- hats, necklaces, bracelets, bangles, earrings. Barb became rather distraught when she discovered that the young girl didn't have her ears pierced. Amy wondered aloud why any sane person would willingly pierce themselves in an effort be more fashionable. These Earthlings were…strange, to say the least.

The ride home was fairly silent. As they neared the house, Amy noticed with suspicion the increased numbers of cars parked in the driveway. She thought there might be a party nearby, but didn't see any. She had to admit that all these people at an unknown location made her more than a little bit nervous.

"Well!" Barb clapped and gave her a smile. "Now wasn't that fun."

"Yup", Amy said, heading into the house. "Thank you very much."

"We should do it again sometime", Barb said happily.

On the inside, Amy grimaced. She wasn't much one for shopping. "Ehhh…"

Barb laughed. "You're so like your brother."

Amy waved as her new neighbor crossed the street and headed back towards her own. She opened the door and sighed…

And realized the large number of people crowded around the appetizers table.

Oh, that's right. It was her birthday. And Ilana had thrown a party… for her. There goes her history homework.

"Happy birthday!" everyone cheered, and Amy found herself swamped by half the people she knew. Lance managed to push himself to the front and slap a pointed cone (it was later explained to her that it was a traditional birthday hat) on her head. "Happy birthday, little sister." He managed to ruffle her hair without disturbing her hat.

Amy growled. "You're next, you know that." Lance grimaced, and Amy laughed. Sweet, sweet revenge.

"Yaaaayy!" Ilana wrapped Amy in a big hug. "Do you like your party?"

Amy forced on a smile for the ecstatic princess. No matter how much Amy might have disliked being the center of attention, she could tell that Ilana had put a lot of effort into the party. Streamers hung from the stairs, the gift table was full, and there was a great big cake that said "Happy 15th Birthday Amy!" on the kitchen table. The whole house was close to overflowing. "It's wonderful!" she found herself replying.

The party company consisted of a majority of the Wildcat Marching Band, some people from String Ensemble, others from Wind Ensemble, and some from soccer (who mostly hung around Ilana). There were also a couple of people from Amy's classes there, and even some with whom she had just randomly made friends with. Needless to say, as all of their rooms were off-limits except for Amy's (most of her friends insisted on a tour), things became a little… crowded. People started to overflow into the backyard, where Newton had begun to barbeque some hot dogs and hamburgers, Kimmy dishing them out.

Early on in the party, Andre caught up to Amy. He bragged about how his gift was the largest in the whole pile. When Amy started to open the presents, she discovered why.

It was a box. Inside of a box. Inside of a box… well, just imagine the words "inside of a box" with bar notation over them. All of them wrapped. About twenty boxes later, the last box was revealed. It was a small ring case, the smallest of them all, and Amy laughed when she opened it.

Cork grease.

(For those of you lucky folks who don't have to deal with cork grease, it's like valve oil for corks. And, if you _still _don't know what that is [lol, inside band terms], it's basically a lubricant for assembling an instrument with corks. Like oiling a door, kind of.)

Everyone who was either in marching band or Wind Ensemble started cracking up. "What?" Andre asked defensively. "She said she needed cork grease!"

Amy gave him a hug. "It's exactly what I needed. Thanks."Andre hugged her back hesitantly with a light blush.

Lance turned sheet white. _Oh, god. _Amy had barely been on this planet for a week, and someone already liked her… and, as if that wasn't bad enough, a _senior _liked her. He felt lightheaded.

Amy frowned. "Lance, you okay?"

He snapped out of his reverie. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I think I just need to go get some water."

-o-o-o-

Everything and nothing was running through his mind at once. He just didn't know what to do. Should he even _do _anything? Would it be bad if he _didn't_? He sat down on his bed for support.

Someone knocked on his door. "Go away", he groaned.

Ilana peeked her head in, worry creasing her eyebrows. Lance immediately sat up straighter. "Oh, Ilana. Come in quick, before the others start pouring in here." She slipped through the door and closed it quietly behind her. She sat next to him on the bed in silence.

She had seen it all, too. The way that, even though it appeared hesitant, Andre had almost seemed eager to hug Amy back. How he had blushed. How Lance had seen that and turned as white as a ghost.

Quite frankly, she was surprised that his reaction hadn't been more… well… Lance. She would have thought he would've tackled Andre before he became scared of him. Or, rather, of the situation.

"He… he…" Lance couldn't seem to finish the sentence, so Ilana did.

"He likes her", she said simply. He groaned and buried his face in the pillow. Ilana chuckled a little and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be fine, don't worry. It's a natural thing, everyone goes through it at one point. I know it must be hard for you to see your little sister being liked by a guy, much less an _older _guy, but it happens. You're not going to be able to watch over her life anymore like you could when you were younger. She'll still need you, but she's in charge of herself now. She knows how to find a path and take it, and no matter how hard it might be, it's not right to try and change where it might lead her."

He took his face out of his pillow and looked at her strangely. "I don't suppose you have any younger siblings?" She shook her head. He sighed. "Perhaps that's what makes you see clearer." She laughed, and her eyes sparkled. Her words came back to him as he felt his face grow red: _It'll be fine, don't worry. It's a natural thing, everyone goes through it at one point. _There was nothing natural about this, the way he found himself focusing on her eyes, her smile, her every motion. How he hung on everything she said.

"Look, Lance", Ilana said gently. "She's been through a lot in her life. We all know that. Don't you think she deserves to find happiness?"

_Well, when she says it like _that…

Lance sighed in exasperation. "Of course, but does it have to be with a _boy?_"

Their laughter mingled and filled the room.

-o-o-o-

Of course, anyone else might have thought it a strange gift, but not Amy. It was exactly what she needed. It was practical. It was… oddly, it was perfect.

"I swear, Andre, only you…" she laughed.

For some reason, his forehead creased. "Do you not like it?"

Amy blinked. "Uh, no. I love it, that's my point."

"Oh." Andre started to blush, and Amy laughed and punched him on the shoulder. He sure was acting weird today, but Amy decided not to ask him about it.

The rest of the party went pretty smoothly- against Amy's wishes her friends had all gotten her presents, and besides cork grease she received a variety of things. Makeup, clothes, gift certificates, clothes, movie tickets, clothes. Books, clothes, money, clothes, shoes, clothes. She got a lot of clothes. Most of her girly friends complained that she was too pretty to wear such military-esque clothing. Amy and Lance just looked at each other, the inside joke shining in their eyes.

Amy walked around entertaining the guests, and Andre stuck by her side- which Amy didn't particularly mind, considering that he seemed to know when to crack a joke when a conversation became awkward. He was quite useful, and Amy found that she really enjoyed his company. It was peculiar- even in all her travels, she had never found anyone _quite _like him.

The party lasted until about four, and Andre was the last to leave. "Phew", Amy sighed, "At least that's over."

Andre laughed. "You look exhausted."

"Nah, I'm fine", she said, but started to frown as she saw her history homework thrown under the table. With all the confusion Barb, the mall, and the party, she hadn't had time to do it. She sighed, picked it up, and flipped to the page with her homework.

Andre grimaced. "Ew, AP Euro. Gross."

"I like it, but the homework can be a real pain", Amy admitted. As she started in on Napoleon's reign, Andre saw a book that caught his eye.

He picked it up and asked her, "You're reading this?" She glanced over the top of her textbook at the novel. "Huh? Oh, Dragon Rider? Yeah, it caught my eye because of the- um, what are they called?- oh yeah, dragon."

Andre grinned. "This was my favorite book as a kid. It's what got me interested in reading. Believe it or not, I'm actually kind of a bookworm."

Amy laughed. "No, I wouldn't have thought that. Cool."

Andre smiled, flipped open the book to the first page, and got comfortable. Amy chuckled, and settled in herself for a long night of notes.

-o-o-o-

Lance walked down at five-thirty, after having just worked out. He had gone up at around 3:50, and only Andre had been left. He thought he would be gone by the time he was done working out…

But more than an hour and a half later, he found the senior boy next to his little sister… on the couch. WITH NO SUPERVISION.

At that point it took Lance everything he had not to lose it. Gritting his teeth, he went back upstairs to work back out. Again. But on his punching bag this time.

Amy noticed him as he receded back upstairs. "Lance?" she called out, confused. He didn't hear her over the rushing blood in his ears, and slammed his door a little more forcefully than he perhaps meant to.

Andre looked up in confusion. "What was that about?"

Amy was still looking at her big brother's door. "I don't know. He's a little strange sometimes", she joked. Andre chuckled and went back to his (or, rather, _her_) book.

-o-o-o-

"Dinner", Newton called from the kitchen.

"Coming", Amy called from the couch. Putting her stuff aside, she got up as Lance once again came down the stairs from his shower. He looked at Andre next to Amy, and walked briskly towards the kitchen, but neither of them noticed.

"I guess I should get going", Andre said. Amy looked outside. "It's already dark", she realized. "Wait a sec."

Andre still in the living room, she walked into the kitchen and asked the robot, "Is there enough for Andre to have some?" Newton nodded. "Great", Amy said, grinning, and ran back in to invite Andre for dinner. Which, of course, he accepted… almost too eagerly.

Lance was about to die. But he wouldn't explode, not with Amy in front of him. He walked outside to get some air. Outside he met Ilana, who looked at his red face with curiosity.

"She – invited – him – to – dinner", Lance said through gritted teeth.

"He's still here?" Lance nodded. Ilana sighed, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Lance. I bet it's hard. But, think of it this way: You're going to have to deal with him. He's only going to get closer to her, and she seems pretty naïve about it. And anyway, even if they _do _end up together-" Lance tensed, but Ilana continued. "Even if they do end up together, then he's going to make her happy. Can't you be grateful to him for that? And it already seems like he's making her happy, anyway. Just- loosen up. It's out of your control."

Lance sighed. He supposed Ilana was right, like she usually was when it came to matters of the heart. She was, after all, the _heart _of Titan. He would try to tolerate Andre. And, who knows, he might learn to like him. "You're right," he admitted.

Ilana smiled with satisfaction. He was becoming less pig-headed. "Of course I'm right. Now come on, it's dinner time."

**Important things from this chapter: the cork grease, the Ilana counseling Lance on Amy's situation, and obviously, AMY AND ANDRE!**

**Hey! Sorry that was kind of short, but the next one will have Amy's history- how did she end up on Earth after her kidnapping, anyway? You'll see! It'll also have more on Andre and Amy. **

**No oneshot contest today. I've got a whole lot of things due before Spring Break, which oddly enough, is next week for us. Which means a lot of updates when you guys get back from school (if you go to school). **

**In the course of writing this, I realized I said something about a 'food' restaurant in the last chapter. Please regard that, it's typo I'm too lazy (and tired) to fix. I guess I'm just a typer typo (I wonder if anyone gets this reference from Saturday Night Live? Will Ferrel? Hyper hypo? Eh, nevermind…). Also, I seriously discovered My Chemical Romance for the first time. I had like them before, but now… just… wow. Wow. I also realized that I can draw… like, **_**well**_**. Which surprises me. I wonder if I can cartwheel now? *Tries* *crashes* Nope. **

**Review! I'll try to update ASAP, but no promises as to exactly when. Have a good day. **


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it wouldn't have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**Hey guys! I'm officially obsessed with My Chemical Romance… too bad they broke up… *sob*. I'm listening to 'Teenagers' right now, and I love it- it's so true for my high school sometimes, gosh… I've got the music so loud I bet the girl next to me can hear it, lol. **

**So, this chapter mainly focuses on Amy and her history. It might even include some of her and Andre, it depends. Anyway, read, REVIEW, and enjoy!**

Chapter 14

Andre yawned. "That was delicious, Newton. Thanks."

"You are welcome", the robot replied in his usual monotone.

Andre looked around, curious. "Where's your dad? Mr. Lunis?"

The Galalunians looked at each other nervously. "He's, um, on a business trip. He'll be back in about a week."

"Oh."

After Andre helped with the dishes, he bid them good-bye and drove home (he was, after all, a senior- he had his own car). Once his car was out of view, Amy came back inside and plopped down on the couch. "Phew", she sighed. "Earth parties sure are…" Amy couldn't find a word to describe it.

Lance laughed. "Yeah. It takes a while to get used to this planet, and you _have _only been here for a little over a week now."

"Of all the planets I've been to", Amy muttered, "Earth is by far the strangest."

Lance blinked. "_All _the planets…? You mean Galaluna?"

Amy laughed. "Yes, Galaluna… as well as Ryoch, Arnos, and of course, Mutrad."

They stared at her, mouths agape. "Wait… what?" asked a dumbstruck Ilana.

The young girl laughed again. "What, you guys were never curious about where I was before I returned back to Galaluna to fight in the war?"

The robot, corporal, and princess all looked at each other in astonishment. It had never really occurred to them- or, at least, their minds had been occupied with other thoughts. "Well, we are now", said Newton.

Amy smiled. "Well, now that you're curious, I have a feeling you're going to make me tell you the story."

The three nodded, and sat down to listen to her story with some dessert.

-o-o-o-

Amy started. "So, the day that those men took me-" Lance tensed, and his sister put a hand on his shoulder. He relaxed a bit, and she continued. "The day they took me…"

_I sat there, crying quietly. _Stop it_, I told myself. _He's probably going through what the grown-ups call pub- puber- puberty? _I dried my eyes and laughed a little. I couldn't be sad- Mom never liked it when I cried. I sighed and went into the kitchen. I would bake Lance an apology cake for when he got home. _

_I was getting out the eggs when I heard the crash. I tensed as I walked into the living room and found the window broken. "Hello, is anyone the-" Suddenly she was seized from behind, and a rough hand was clasped over her mouth. _

"_Well, what do we have here", said a rough voice. Then, to someone else, they barked: "It thought you said this place was empty."_

"_I thought it was", replied another man, nervously. "I suppose we can take her as hostage."_

_My mind was racing. Lance had recently taken to martial arts, and he would teach me what he had learned. Reflecting back on this, I grabbed the attacker's forearm, wrestled out from under it, and flipped up the his elbow. I heard a satisfying _crunch_, and managed to punch him in the face and kick him in the groin before the other man caught me. I managed to kick him in the same area too, and to kick his shin before he was able to hit me. I groaned, and swung around blindly through my swelling eye, but one of the men had restrained me and the other bound my arms forcefully behind my back. I could hear them groaning in pain, and with satisfaction spit in one of the men's face. He slapped me. _

"_She's a feisty one", he said with a mix of what I thought might be amusement and distaste. The other one nodded. The whole time they ransacked my house, I kept trying to escape, but failed. I could feel my insides throbbing, and was growing weaker. _

_Just as we were leaving, I saw Lance and dad running up to me. Then I felt the barrel of a gun being pressed against my head, and heard the safety catch flip. Lance stopped, terrified. I composed myself for him. I knew he probably couldn't hear me, but I whispered, "It'll be fine."_

_Anger filled his face and I almost laughed, though I don't know why. Perhaps I was becoming hysterical. The man holding me shoved me into a pod, and as the door closed I could see the desperation written across the face of my brother. As the door closed, I thought to Lance, _I love you.

_I must have passed out, because I woke up in a small cell with every part of me throbbing. A concrete room, and for many hours I sat in there, pounding the wall and screaming for help. The men told me to shut up when they forced my food and water through a small opening in the door, and I collapsed on the floor in tears. Silent tears, of course- I wouldn't let my captors have the satisfaction of knowing that they almost broke me. _Almost.

_Because, after a while, I realized crying wouldn't help anything. I looked down at my wrist. Dirt was caked over it, but there was still a small picture that we had drawn that morning- or was it yesterday morning, now?- on my wrist. Two smiley faces, one with long black hair and one with short red hair. Us. And right then, I vowed that whatever it took, I would find him again. That I would find a way back to my big brother. I started planning. _

_Each time they gave me my food, they shoved a new metal tray through the door. I devised a plan, and sharpened one of them to a point as quietly and as quickly as I could for the next few days. About a week or so from when I was kidnapped, one of them came in to get me- and I was ready. Steeling my heart against everything good I had ever known, I threw the point at the man's head…for Lance... But it only hit his leg. Howling, he fell to the ground, but before I could escape, his partner came to his aid and caught me. He punched me in the ribs and bound me before tending to his partner who, regrettably, lived. They shoved me back in the pod, and we traveled for a few hours to an abandoned lot. There we waited for another hour, and my confusion was alleviated when the taller one with brown hair and eyes told me in a sickly sweet voice, "Well, honey, I guess your daddy doesn't love you. The richy-rich scientist couldn't pay a measly 1,000 for your life. How pathetic."_

_There my heart sunk through my feet. Dad…. I was filled with a burning resentment, and as the man led me back to the pod, I was shaking with anger. I was eventually put back in my cell while they decided what to do with me, and my last meal was my savior. My captors were bigger idiots than I originally thought, because they continued feeding me my meals on metal plates- only one meal. Knowing I wouldn't have any time to sharpen it, I waited until the tall one- the one who I hadn't hit in the leg- came through the door. So stupid… he didn't even have his gun or any form of protection. I hit him across the head so hard it bent the tray, and sprinted for the exit. I made it out into a large field, and didn't stop running until I passed out. _

_I woke up on a sofa. I sat up quickly, but fell back down clutching my ribcage. Dammit. A pretty young woman appeared in the doorway to a kitchen, and seeing me awake, rushed to my side, and called to someone in the other room: "Tod, honey, she's awake! Bring the broth, dear!" _

_I tried to get off the sofa and run, but didn't get very far before I passed out again, the woman barely catching me. When I regained consciousness again, the woman was putting a warm cloth over my head. "Shhh," she said soothingly. "I'm Kate, and this is my husband Tod." She gestured to a man on a recliner, who got up to bring me a bowl of steaming broth. "We found you in our field. You've been unconscious for three days. What happened?"_

_I looked at them warily. Knowing it was probably a stupid question, I asked them, "Can I trust you?" _

_The woman- Kate- looked at me with sadness in her eyes. "Oh, honey… of course you can." _

_I sighed, and told them my story. By the time I was done, both of them had tears in their eyes. I sipped my broth, exhausted. "Poor thing", Kate whispered. Tod just shook his head. _

_I got out from under my covers on the couch. "Thank you very much for your hospitality, but I really must be going", I said tiredly. _

_The couple looked at me in alarm. "To where, young'un?" Tod asked. _

"_Home. I live near the capital- would you be so kind as to give me directions?"_

_Kate brightened. "Oh, we only live about an hour away from the capital. Don't worry, honey, we'll have you home in no time." _

_I thanked them, and they helped me hobble into their old pod. Once we were all settled, Kate in the back seat next to me, Tod said, "Off to Averanda." _

_My blood ran cold. I had just started taking geography in school, and if my assumption was correct…_

"_But, I live near the capital", I whispered. _

_Kate looked at me in confusion. "Averanda _is _the capital…"_

"_The capital of _Ryoch," _I stated, dreading what was coming. _

_Tod looked at me. "We _are _on Ryoch."_

_I passed out again, and when I awoke I told Kate and Tod my home was on Galaluna. They looked at me sadly. "So far from home", Kate murmured. _

"_Well, that'll be a problem", said Tod, frowning. "Here on Ryoch, they have a culture check at the interplanetary airports. Even regular citizens find them hard to pass, so you…."_

_And that was how it was arranged that I would stay with the couple until they taught me everything I needed to know to clear customs. Unfortunately, though, Ryochian customs wasn't my only problem. I never did discover how I ended up at Ryoch- how my captors transferred me, or whatever- because to get from Galaluna you had to pass through Arnos and Mutrad… and you had to clear _their _customs, too. I nearly passed out again, but Kate was originally from Arnos, and Tod had been to Mutrad before, so they agreed to help me pass those exams as well. I was overwhelmed by their kindness. However, these things were not easily learned, and there were many other factors to think of. Not having any children yet, they both worked, and even though I had been through a lot (and was very mature for my age), they couldn't just leave me alone during the day… so they'd enroll me in school. Either way, it would help me learn more about Ryoch. So, for the next five years, I went to school and would come 'home' to a lesson about the culture of three different planets. Despite my efforts not to for fear of getting too attached, I made several friends. There was Kristina and Kelly, and Brandon, too (and others, but these were the main three). Of the three I was particularly close to Kelly, and we did many things together when I had time. She would always ask why I was so busy, and I would tell her about my studies. When she asked why I was doing those studies, I would tell her I had to get to Galaluna, but I didn't really learn to trust her until my second year on Ryoch. Then I told her about my predicament, and she vowed to help me get home and find Lance again. I eventually told Kristina and Brandon, too, but my first friend that wasn't Lance was Kelly. We became sisters. _

_When I had to leave, what I had feared would happen did- I wasn't sure that I _wanted_ to leave. I had great friends, two people who loved me as parents, and a great life- but I managed to leave, because I knew if I didn't then I would never see Lance again. My goodbye was tearful- Kelly gave me a sturdy friendship bracelet, Kristina and Brandon pitched in to buy me a beautiful ring (their parents helped them), and Kate and Tod gave me a 'daughter' necklace. That made me cry. The second year I was there, Kate became pregnant, and when the baby daughter was born, Kate and Tod asked me to be her sister. That brought me to tears, and my unofficial sister, Brenda, was perhaps the hardest to leave. She was crying and asking why I had to leave, why couldn't I stay. I gave her a stuffed animal of a caterpillar, her favorite animal, and told her to be good while I was gone. So, on that planet, I gained two sisters and a family. When I Ryoch, I vowed that one day I would return with Lance to say hi, so I could be with my whole family one day. I had come to love Ryoch, and the only thing I loved more was my big brother. The day I left, we got a stranger at the airport to take a picture of my family and friends. _

_I stayed on Arnos for a little over a year. I had small problems at customs, but a wonderful old woman named Maya took me in for the year. Arnos also spoke a different language, and while Kate taught me the basics, Maya helped me become fluent. I was ten by then, and I enrolled in sixth grade for the year I was there and made a few new friends, my favorites being Alexei and Kevin. Maya insisted that I call her 'Grandma', which was nice since my actual dad, Edward, had run away from home, and my biological mom, Rachel, well… her family disowned her after marrying Edward, so I never really had a grandmother or grandfather or any aunts or uncles or cousins. Maya would constantly tease me about Kevin and Alexei, saying that I loved them. I told her that love was irrational. That goodbye from Arnos was painful, too. Maya took me to get my ears pierced (it was customary on Mutrad to had pierced ears, boys and girls both), and the boys took me on a good-bye date and each gave me a pair of earrings. It hurt to leave them, too. _

_Mutrad… was different. By the time I got there, I was eleven, and Mutrad is not a nice place for a child. I was taken in by an orphanage before I got the chance to explain that I was supposed to go to Galaluna. Schooling on Mutrad is… different. Instead of learning history and math and grammar, the Mutraddi feared knowledge and instead taught war. I turned out to be an exceptional strategist, and was recruited at the age of twelve. I hated the disorder and brutality, and I couldn't reveal to anyone that I was Galalunian- the two planets had a peace treaty, but also a rivalry. Mutrad also spoke a different language than either Galaluna or Arnos. The only friend I made there was a small girl named Jessica, but I had to leave her when I was recruited. She was so miserable, though, that I vowed that when I got back to Galaluna I would come back and save her. _

_Eventually, I did reach Galaluna. I made my way to where I used to live…and my disappointment upon reaching an empty house nearly crushed me. I was depressed for weeks, until someone- I don't remember who- told me my father had died. I felt only a little remorse at his passing, remembering his refusal to pay ransom to save my life. I resolved to go to the palace and ask the King about Lance, as I remembered that he had close ties with Edward, but right as I was about to meet him- literally, ten minutes prior- the Mutraddi invaded. I couldn't help wondering how, being in the Mutrad army, I didn't know about their invasion plans. But, then again, I hadn't even known that Modula was alive. _

_I rushed into the palace. About two hours after the invasion, I saw a flash in the sky and looked up to see what appeared to be a comet streaking away from Galaluna. What was that, I wonder…I didn't have any more time to contemplate it as I was occupied with the battle raging in the palace. I went up to the soldier distributing arms and held out my hand. He looked at me skeptically, and I steeled my face. He was still unsure, and told me, "Yeah, right, kid. Go find your parents; they're probably worried about you." _

_I could feel the fury light up my face as I said in in a dangerously low voice, "My parents are dead. I've spanned three planets and left behind people I loved to find my brother, and I don't even know if he's alive right now. I've almost _killed_ people before, and the only reason they're not dead was because I knew how _not _to_ _kill them. Do I_ look _like I'm Mutraddi to you? I'd _hate _to have to rip that gun from your hands." The soldier still hesitated a bit, and I growled out, "I'm Edward's daughter. Lance was my _BROTHER, _goddamn it!" The soldier looked at me in astonishment. Apparently my big brother had made a name for himself in the Royal Guard. _

"You're_ Lance's sister?!" I rolled my eyes at his incredulous expression and grabbed the gun. As I ran to the front lines, I thought I heard him say, "Yup, Lance's sister, all right…" _

_I took my place next to a soldier with blond hair and a long nose, switched my gun to rapid fire, and pulled the trigger, yelling my head off. When my ammunition ran out, I snatched about 20 magazines from the person supplying ammo, jammed one into the machine, and repeated the process. I could feel the other soldiers' eyes on me, staring, but I didn't care. I shot the Mutraddi for everything that had happened within the past nine years. I shot them as if they were the men who took me. I shot them as if I could be back with Lance if I did, and I shot them as if they were the day my father failed to pay for my life. I shot them for all my hate… which was a _lot_. And in remembering my hate, I remembered why I couldn't- hate, that is. I remembered that fateful day…when I first met the princess…._

_*begin flashback* Right after Mom died, I met _her_… in the market. She was lost- she had wandered away from her guards, but I didn't know that at the time. All I knew was that she was a lost and scared girl (given, a _well-dressed_ lost and scared girl), about two years older than I, who didn't know where she was. I was there with Lance, and he was off buying apples. We were going to meet up in an hour at the flagpole. I approached the girl, who was crying, curled up in a ball in the middle of the walkway. "Hey", I asked her, "What's wrong?"_

"_I-I" she gulped, and couldn't finish. _

"_C'mon, let's get you out of the traffic", I told her, helping her to the side of the street. _

"_Th-thank you", she hiccupped. "I- I got separated from my daddy, and I don't know where to find him."_

"_Oh, that's easy", I said. The girl looked up at me in surprise, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Where did you get separated, and what does he look like?" After a moment: "Oh, by the way, I'm Amy."_

"_I'm Ilana", said the girl. She told me that she last saw her daddy near the apple cart, and that he was very tall, with white hair styled like hers, and bulky with a deep voice. As we went off to look for her dad, we talked to each other. I told her about Lance, and how much fun we had, and how much I loved him. She seemed amazed at how much I loved my brother, and as she asked me questions about him, she became happy. Eventually, I asked her where her mom was, if she was looking for her dad, and Ilana became very sad. _

"_My mommy left me and daddy", she said, looking down. When she looked back up, though, she was smiling. "But we're fine."_

_I was agape. I knew what it was like to lose your mother- it was painful, it was agonizing, it was surreal. It wasn't something you could easily accept. And here was Ilana, totally fine with it. "How are you fine with that? I've lost my mom too, how can it ever go away?"_

_Ilana sighed sadly, oddly mature for her age. "It's not fine, and it never goes away. But you learn to deal with it, and you know what?"_

"_What?" I asked, curious. _

_She looked at me straight in the eyes and said the wisest words ever said by a six-year-old. "It doesn't do any good to hate, or resent, or regret. No matter what happened that was bad, there's nothing you can do about it now. Whatever happens, you have to accept that and make the best out of it. If you become sad because of something, that doesn't do any good. Just find the good things everywhere, and life will become a lot easier." Ilana suddenly saw her dad and ran up to him. "Daddy!"_

_A tall, muscular man turned around, and the worry on his face turned to relief as he scooped up his daughter. There were men by his side with pointy sticks, and they suddenly pointed them at me, as I was the one with Ilana last. I cowered in the dirt as they approached me, and started to cry. Suddenly Lance was there in front of me, shouting at the men to leave me alone. Suddenly, Ilana and her dad seemed to notice what was happening._

"No!_" Screamed Ilana to the men. "Stop it! She helped me find daddy!" _

"_She's right, stop that at once", the dad ordered, and the men stood down. Lance helped me up and asked me if I was okay. I said I was, and Lance, being protective as he was, started yelling at the guards._

"_WHAT THE HECK?! WHY WERE YOU SCARING MY SISTER?!" I tried to calm him down, but to no avail. Suddenly Ilana's father seemed to recognize us. _

_Astonished, he asked us, "Lance? Amy?"_

_Lance's attention turned to the man, and as his eyes widened, he bowed. "Curtsy, it's the king", he whispered to me. I curtsied, and it dawned on me that Ilana was the princess. The King put her down and she rushed over to us. "Sorry about that", she giggled, and the King apologized as well. Lance, for some reason, started to blush and became mute._

"_It's fine, they were just protecting you – after all, you _are _the princess", I told her, and she turned to Lance. _

"_So, you're Amy's brother?" Lance nodded. "You know, she really loves you a lot. Be good to her, she's really nice." With that, the princess gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and bounded back to her amused father. Lance was still standing there dumbstruck when they left, waving. His face looked like it was on fire, and he was stuttering as I dragged him home with the apples. That day, I gave Ilana her dad, and she gave me wisdom that I would use for the rest of my life. *end flashback*_

_I stopped yelling while shooting, and dissipated my hate, but I didn't take my finger off the trigger. The men next to me watched as I became mute and composed, and took to head-shotting the invading monsters. Soon they were pushed out of the palace, and I helped the army push them out of the capital, as well. Somewhere along the way I donned a Royal Guard uniform, and while I sustained multiple injuries, I kept fighting- not for hate, but for love and hope and inspiration. For Lance and Mom and Ilana and her dad. For Galaluna. When the fighting was over, I dropped the overheated weapon- my fifth now- to the ground, its barrel still smoking. Panting, I felt them still staring at me. I looked up, and grinned. "What, never seen a young teenage girl slaughter Mutraddi with a rapid-fire machine gun before?" They laughed, hysterical, probably due to exhaustion. One of them approached me. _

"_I hear you're Lance's sister." It was more of a statement than a question, as if he had seen enough of me to know the answer. _

"_I guess he's made a name for himself in the Guard?" The men nodded. "Funny, he was so set on becoming a scientist, like dad…" I tensed a little, and the others backed off. I relaxed and looked at them with humor. "…..He developed a temper, didn't he?"_

_The blonde one with the long nose that I had fought beside laughed. "I'd say so. Worst of the Guard. He's infamous for it." He stuck out his hand. "Baron."_

_I shook it. "Amy." Suddenly, there was a huge hand on my shoulder. It whirled me around right as I was about to flip him. When I saw who it was, I was glad I didn't. The Kind stood there staring at me in astonishment. _

"_Amy…" he pulled me into a hug, and I thought I heard him say something like, "Both of them in a couple of hours", but I wasn't sure. It was my fourteenth birthday. _

_From there, I was kept close to him. The next day there was a situation where I proved my worth as a strategist- and intel on how the Mutraddi army worked. When General Collins died, the King pulled a few strings and got me to fill his place. I started to train soldiers, and they turned out to be phenomenal. For the year I was there, I settled into military life as easily as anything. But… I never worked up enough courage to ask about Lance, and no one told me. I was too afraid that I'd find out he was dead, that my journey was for nothing. I knew that he had been put in the Academy as a child, and had had a tough time. When I heard that was mainly due to Baron, in my anger I drew my knife on him when only we were around. Baron had just smiled and admitted his mistake…. He told me about Lance, and I put away my knife. We became close friends. The King and I also became close- he confided in me often, and I knew him better than anyone else in the Guard. I eventually was able to send a rescue party (small, as to not attract attention) to Mutrad to rescue Jessica from that orphanage, but I never go to see if she was saved- one night in the early morning the King had called me in…_

_"Apparently it runs in the family, as your brother really was perfect for the task."_

_My heart rushed, nearly bursting. I didn't bother to push down the tears that rose to flood my eyes. "Lance?..." It didn't matter that he had changed. He was alive…. And he was Lance. _

_I had finally fulfilled my vow. I'm making my way back to you. _

The story had taken a while, about two hours. It was almost eleven now, and they all sat on the sofa, staring at her like they had done so many times in the past week. Amy laughed at their faces. "Drama, drama, I know." Lance's face was slightly tear-streaked, along with Ilana's, and was trying to process it all. Of course the robot wanted to make it as awkward as possible, though, so he turned to Lance and Ilana and said: "You two kissed?" and, turning to Lance: "And you flushed?"

They both blushed. "Please, Octus, we were six", said Ilana, to Lance's inward disappointment. Dammit, _why couldn't he remember that?! _

Lance looked in astonishment at his sister. "So, let me get this straight: You were kidnapped, escaped two grown men, gained sisters and friends across three other planets _besides _Earth and Galaluna, learned to different languages, became a General, made friends with my old worst enemy, and fought on the front lines of battle to push the Mutraddi out of the capital within _ten years_."

Amy nodded, though a part of her brain registered with satisfaction the way Lance said his _old_ worst enemy- as in, not anymore. Baron must have talked to him in Lance's holo-message.

Lance just shook his head. "Man… you're amazing."

She laughed. "No, just determined. And I finally found you." They smiled. Ilana was watching this and marveled at their bond- it was closer than anything she had ever seen, ever.

"But…." Amy sighed, sadness in her eyes.

"What?" Lance asked anxiously.

She looked up. "After all that, what happened to them?" Seeing the confusion on their faces, she clarified: "To Kate and Tod, my parents? To Kelly and Brenda, my sisters? To Kristina and Brandon, my close friends? Kevin and Alexei, my boy friends? To Maya, my grandmother, and to Jessica, that small little frightened girl in the Mutraddi orphanage?" Amy looked down, her voice becoming smaller and smaller. Lance looked at her sadly. Ilana walked over to her on the recliner and gave Amy a hug.

"….wait." Amy's head snapped up. She hardly dared to hope, but… "Octus, did the King upgrade your software?"

"..yeess?" The robot wasn't sure where this was going.

Amy sat up, and said in her clearest voice, "Activate inter-planetary message device system."

Suddenly Octus began whirring and buzzing. He said, "Message open. Please type message, enter coordinates, and hit 'send'." Then, after a pause, the robot said: "Whoah. I didn't know I could do that."

Amy sprang to the keyboard, but controlled herself and turned to Ilana. "I believe you would like to send your father a message?" The princess grinned happily and started typing.

The rest of the night was sent sending messages and pictures. Octus expected the messages would be there by morning. Even Lance sent one, to Baron.

That day was one they would remember for a long time. Amy's fifteenth birthday, Andre's first (but definitely not last) appearance at their house, Amy's eagerness to include him, Lance's resistance to it, Ilana's advice to him, Amy's history, and the interplanetary e-mail- way faster than AT&T or Verizon or Sprint or T-Mobile or any of those- or all of them combined. They went to bed exhausted but content, ready for school the next day- and ready for a response from their loved ones. Right as Amy drifted off into sleep, she smiled. Yes, her vow had been fulfilled. She had found Lance again.

**Important things from this chapter: Amy's history (mostly the people, reference this chapter towards the end of this fanfic), LANCE AND ILANA'S KISS (oohlala), and the interplanetary messaging system. **

**Ow… my fingers hurt. I just typed for about eight straight hours… okay, okay, I had dinner. But, really, that was a lot, so pleasepleaseplease review! I'm fairly satisfied with this one… I know it's really dark, but it really brings out the contrast between Amy's dark past and her bright personality. And, as request from Duskbringer, I included Ilana in Amy's history as to why she's not cold-hearted like Lance. I'll try to get into WAY more shipping next chapter, and there'll also be something interesting with Titan… HOW DOES AMY FACTOR INTO THAT CHIZ? :D Anyway, I'm going to bed. It's, like, 1:30. Sorry, not like- it IS 1:30. As in, AM. Yeah. Thanks again to all of you who review, I really appreciate it A LOT. Also, a lot of you have started following- which is great- but you DON'T REIVEW! It's the little box under this blob of text. If you're reading this on an iPhone, it's the 'Review' button with a yellow text bubble. CLICK IT AND REVIEW. Please… I'm crying here… special thanks to A Necessary Production for all the inspiration they've given me. Review and have a great day **


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it wouldn't have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**This is going to be long as heck. Bear with it, please. We're starting to wrap it up here. Thanks to everyone who reviews and follows. Review! And enjoy ****.**

The next few weeks were wonderful. Amy and Newton's musical competitions went wonderfully, the Wildcat Marching Band got first place in all of its competitions, and (much to Lance's disdain) excitement about the upcoming dance grew. They all grew closer and became even more accustomed to life on Earth. Octus said that the replies from their loved ones were due to arrive soon, and everyone waited in anticipation for news from Galaluna- and Arnos and Ryoch. One day on the way home from school, however, Lance pointed out something that troubled them all.

"Hey…. Guys?" They turned to him, curious at the troubled look on his face. "I know that Galaluna's advancing in the war and everything, but… don't you think that the Mutraddi attacks shouldn't have just _stopped _after Amy came?"

They all looked at her, and she just shrugged in confusion. "Don't ask me", she said in a bewildered tone. "I just got here."

Newton spoke up. "I have been wondering about that, too. I have analyzed this situation and found that we are due for an attack very soon. I think that what happened was that the Mutraddi recognized that there was a signal coming from Galaluna headed towards Earth, and as the King put a cloaking device around Amy's pod, they couldn't sense a life form and thought that the pod was sent to retrieve the princess. So, assuming the pod would come back with its precious cargo – the princess – they waited and prepared an ambush. Since nothing has returned, they will soon resume their ambush, but since Galaluna is fighting back, the attacks will not be so common."

Ilana cocked her head. "Well, I guess that makes sense…" And the robot's prediction soon came true. Within a few days, in the middle of Algebra II/ Trig, Octus and Lance pinged Amy and Ilana in the class. Both of them pretended to feel sick and blamed it on last night's dinner (they did live together, after all), and so the four of them met outside the school, and took off towards the direction that Octus determined the creature had landed. Lance turned on his Manus armor, Octus to his robotic self, Ilana activated Corus, and Amy activated…

"What do you call that armor, anyway?" Ilana wondered aloud when Amy transformed into the orange armor that they had first seen her in battling 1,076. The armor was a bright orange, but could change to a less obvious color if camouflage was needed. It seemed to flow, but still managed to be threatening to any opponent. It was in between the heights of Corus and Manus, and seemed like a blend between them.

"Well, it's a prototype the King made for me, but… I call it Tera. It… suits it (HAHA PUNNY, 'SUITS IT'…sorry, bad joke), I think." Lance nodded.

"Yeah, I can see Tera." With that, they sped off.

-o-o-o-

The four were poking around the landing site when Octus heard a noise behind them. Spinning around, he came face to face with a large…

What was this?

An odd creature with hundreds of legs, one eye, and large wings about… four feet tall? Sure, the Mutraddi were being pushed back by Galalunian soldiers, but were they really getting this depleted on resources that they had to send this little thing to try and destroy them? These were Lance's thoughts as he walked towards the small monster.

"Stop!" Octus commanded loudly as he pushed Lance back… just before a stream of acid shot in the Manus armor's direction and disintegrated the nearest tree.

"What the…?" Said Lance as he got out of the way of what Octus now identified as 2,375 in whatever alien dictionary he had in his database. So that was what the Mutraddi were thinking when they sent this.

"Peculiar", said Octus as he tried to examine it further.

"Well, let's get this over with", said Lance as he pulled out his sword, thinking this would be fairly easy.

He was wrong.

As the sword sliced through the air Octus said once again, "Stop!", but it was too late. Lance had cut the creature in half. He turned to the robot and asked, "What now?"

He soon found out. From the carcass of the slaughtered creature climbed out…two more. And no matter how much Lance split the things in half, they just kept multiplying. Octus finally got him to stop, and they pondered how to prevent this.

"Maybe… if we blast them?" asked Ilana, and Lance immediately sent out some missiles. The smooshed creatures continued to replicate. There were now about forty of them. The way they multiplied reminded Ilana of a story she had heard in history about some hero named Hercules and a monster called… was it a hydra? Anyway, every time Hercules cut off one of its heads, two more appeared. Unfortunately, she couldn't remember how Hercules had beaten them- the bell had rung at that point.

"Perhaps if we crush them…" pondered Octus, and as they all stepped on the monsters, they only increased to multiply. It was becoming extremely hard to keep them from wandering off into the forest and losing any of them. G3 would have a field day if they got their hands on any of these.

And suddenly… it wasn't a problem anymore. Because now there was only one creature… composed of all the others. All 70 or so creatures had morphed into one large one, and it now towered over them all. This whole time Amy had been watching silently, thinking about how they would go about destroying this creature. She remembered on Arnos there had been an infestation of these once in its capital city, Averanda, and the way the military had defeated them was eluding her.

She didn't have much longer to think, though. The monster was soon swinging at them, and knocked them all off their feet. Lance sped up towards its head and pulled out his sword again, but the creature just swatted him to the ground, along with Octus, and then Ilana. The thing was fast- Amy was the only one who could compete with its speed, but it quickly drained even her energy until they all were on the verge of collapse. Lance, Ilana, and Octus formed Titan to attack the creature to attack it while Amy provided a distraction, but after many blows, the trio was exhausted. The final blow disengaged their link, but before that happened Lance took most of the blow. When the all fell, he fell a little harder, and… he didn't get up.

Amy flew quickly to her brother, but when he continued to be unable to move, her armor turned from her neon orange to a bright, blood red. She shook from fury, and when Octus re-engaged their link to try and revive the soldier with strength shared from him and Ilana, the corporal remained dangerously unconscious. The monster threw another blow at Titan, and stumbling, it fell to one knee.

Amy couldn't take it anymore. Her desperation and anger took over, and almost unconscious of her actions, her instincts took her to fly before Titan. Compared to the giant robot she was puny, but she slowly flew closer and closer to the "heart" area of titan. Her Tera armor mysteriously sent out a beam of light at Titan, and before any of them knew what was happening…

Amy was a part of Titan.

As her armor morphed with that of Lance, Ilana, and Octus, they all felt the shape of Titan shift into something new. Instead of two feet, it now had four… it was almost shaped as a dog, but with human characteristics as well. Instead of fur, it had almost scale-like plating surrounding its body, with its colors ranging from a deep blue-ish purple to yellow to a light blue to… orange. It's tail could curve like a scythe or straighten like a sword, and while it was extremely sharp, couldn't cut itself. Titan's senses were all enhanced, and they all felt a little mental switch to change to a human version of Titan, too, if they wanted to fly. The only difference between the new humanoid version of Titan and the old humanoid version of Titan was it was slightly taller, faster, stronger, and it had streaks of orange throughout its armor. But this new quadruped version of Titan, this almost wolf-like form with hidden arsenals under each 'scale'… was like nothing any of them had ever experienced. And the outside wasn't the only thing that had changed.

There was still a heart of the animal, and around that heart was the blue of the body, while mind looked over both, but Lance and Ilana were now joined by Amy, and they felt a new presence running through the robot…

Soul.

They all felt it, and even Amy seemed astonished at what had happened and what she was, even though she had initiated it. She was… the soul. It was like there was a new part of the Galalunian tradition.

Now, some could argue that the heart and the soul are both the same. Well, they're not. The heart is the center, and controls things that are deep and yet simple- morals, standards, and other important things necessary for survival. Things that are required to be a part of a functioning society. But the soul is completely different. The soul is, essentially, the thing that allows everything to run smoothly. It connects everything, but at the same time, everything depends on it. The soul deals with extremely deep matters, problems or situations that almost question the very essence of one's being. The position and goal of the soul determines one's path, how they'll achieve it, and answers the "why" of every person's being. The soul is that part that some never find, but makes the person who they are.

And no one could believe that they now had a 'soul' in Titan. Amy.

They didn't have much time to stand there dumbstruck, though. They soon saw a giant arm swinging at them. Apparently, the monster wasn't impressed by their transformation. They dodged it with amazing speed, and as Lance's consciousness automatically demanded firepower, missiles shot out from under their scaly armor. The creature grew as it multiplied, and suddenly Amy remembered how Arnos had dealt with these pests- the same way, Ilana later remembered, as Hercules had dealt with the hydra.

_Ilana, _Amy commanded her thoughts at the princess. _Form an energy field around the creature and compress it, crushing it. _

_What? _Lance thought in horror. _You saw what happened when we crushed them! It just makes them bigger!_

Amy let her plan flow through their thoughts, and she felt a mental "Oh" from them all. They took off and circled the creature as Ilana created the field. Compressing it and hearing the crunching sound, they waited until every one of them was completely squashed before Lance started his part. As he commanded a stream of fire out of the Titan's mouth towards the energy field, Ilana stopped crushing them and dissipated the field. The flames quickly engulfed the mass, much more effective than just the short, booming heat of explosives. The flames continued to shoot out as they continued their circle around the burning blob, and when they stopped they watched the remains crumble to the ground as ashes.

They all dug a small hole (they were kind of a wolf now, after all) to bury the ashes, and once they were done they disengaged the link. The four stood as humans panting in the clearing that had been created by the fight.

The original Titan Trio all looked at Amy. She had a thin sheen of sweat across her forehead, and had to sit down from exhaustion. She looked ready to pass out. She had obviously done the most during the fight, and it took a lot of energy to form the new Titan, as they had never done it before. None of them knew what to say.

"Amy…" Lance was especially speechless. His little sister looked up at him, and he saw the fatigue in her eyes.

She knew what he was thinking, and said firmly, "No, Lance. It's not anything special. You're the Body, Ilana is the Heart, Octus the Mind, and I am the Soul. Nothing more."

He shook his head and helped her up as they activated their armors- all except Amy. She didn't have the energy to fly home, so Lance carried her as she passed out in his cold, metallic hands. If his suit could show expressions, it would have been smiling at his little sister, pride covering every inch of his face.

-o-o-o-

Amy skipped school the next day, but not voluntarily- Lance insisted that no one wake her up since she was so exhausted. He stayed home to watch over her, and by the time she woke up, school was almost out anyway. She gave him a dirty look, but didn't have the energy to do much more than that. When she came back the next day, she was questioned profusely by all of her friends. Where had she been? What? She was sick? Was she feeling okay? Was she sure? Okay, well if she needed anything, she had to let them know. On the inside, Amy was chuckling. She claimed to have had a common cold, but that was hardly cause to worry compared to other things she had been through before- not that anyone knew about that. Of course, Andre was glued to her side almost all day long, making sure she didn't feel light-headed or warm or fatigued. She laughed constantly at his unnecessary worry. Lance tried to let it go.

Octus came to school the next couple of days tired, too, and Kimmy kept fussing about him. "I just need to recharge my batteries", he kept telling her, an Earth saying that he had picked up that was oddly accurate for a robot such as himself. Nevertheless, Kimmy stayed by her boyfriend all day, making sure he was as fine as he said he was. Octus- er, _Newton_- felt an odd sensation at her concern, like nothing he had ever felt before. Like a little warm feeling in the pit of his holographic human's stomach.

He was in his room later that night after dinner, pondering these recent developments and charging, when Amy opened his door. "Can I come in?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, please do", Octus replied in his monotone that was actually becoming increasingly rare. Amy came in and sat down on the bed that had recently been added to the robot's room to make it look more "normal", with stylish brown-and-black sheets picked out especially by Kimmy. Octus continued to stand.

"Um...have the, uh…the messages…" Amy started, but Octus detected something behind just this question. Amy never stuttered.

"No, they haven't, you know I would notify you if they had. Now what did you really come here to ask me?" The robot asked, as straight-forward as ever.

The young girl seemed to be caught off-guard. "Well, that's just it, actually. That. You're not just a robot anymore… and I think you need someone to go over that with."

"No, I am not, and I am fine processing it on my own, but thank you for the offer", the robot said almost stiffly.

"Octus", Amy said gently. "Are you sure? Being a human is very confusing without being a robot, too. Humans aren't logical, and that's hard to process."

Octus sighed, transformed into Newton, and sat down on his bed next to Amy, who smiled slightly. "These emotions! They're so- so- they don't make any sense! What triggers them? I mean, I know from my research that when certain events are processed by the brain it-" Amy put a hand on Newton's knee, silencing him.

"That's just it", she explained. "You're overanalyzing it. There's science behind everything in the universe, but some things just don't make _sense. _You can categorize fear or aggression by adrenaline or happiness or sadness or love by other hormones, but you can't scientifically describe how you _feel_. You have to realize that. Sometimes it just makes more sense to hit that 'I believe' button instead of trying to reason everything out through science. Like gravity- you can't explain that through science, but-"

Here Octus interrupted her: "Actually, I have scientifically reasoned out gravity. It was quite simple, really."

Amy just shook her head and chuckled. "Well, all the same, do you understand what I'm saying? About how you should just accept some things?"

The robot cocked his head and said slowly, "I…I think so."

Amy smiled. "Good. And if it's still kind of confusing, just remember- you don't _have _to analyze everything. It's fine to let some things be as they are."

Octus nodded and as he became lost in thought, Amy showed herself the door. As the handle clicked quietly, his 'thoughts' became shifted towards Kimmy. This was getting so complicated. He was becoming more and more human, and that also meant that more and more room was being left for errors. Humans made errors, that was an accepted fact of life due to the fact that the human brain makes miscalculations. Octus shifted out of his Newton hologram.

But Octus could not make miscalculations.

-o-o-o-

The news was finally here.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU PING US?!" roared Ilana and Amy as they snatched the letters out of the robot's hand. He had gotten them in during second period, but had waited until after school when they got home to print them out for the two girls. Octus looked at them strangely. He didn't see why they were so excited.

Lance explained in a quiet voice, "They've got more to miss, more to have a chance of losing than we do. They have… family."

Hearing this, Amy looked up at her brother and gave him a smile. "We _are _family," she said, and resumed to tearing her envelope to shreds. Ilana already had hers open and the biggest grin was on her face.

"Let's see here… Galaluna's advancing greatly, we've got allies, hmmm…. Father's doing well… ooh, a picture of him and Galaluna and the troops! How nice… oh, they're prospering! Wonderful! Hobbes is doing great, so are the others!" Ilana finished her letter while Amy was still struggling with hers. Lance took it and, sliding his finger under the fold, opened it swiftly. He handed it back to Amy.

"Oh, Lance, I forgot- a letter arrived to you from Baron." The robot handed the moody teenager an envelope which he tucked away for later. Amy sat down on the couch and began to read her letter aloud.

"Okay, guys, this one is from Ryoch, from Kate, Tod, Kelly, Kristina, Brandon, and Brenda. Let's see here…" She read the letter aloud.

"Dearest Amy,

We're so happy you're okay! We thought we'd never hear from you again! Of course, we had hoped, but you must admit that the odds were against you- though you do have a way of going against all odds when you're determined.

We can't believe you actually found Lance! Tell him hi for us, along with your Princess Ilana and Octus-" Amy looked up at them and said with a smile, "Hi." She returned to her letter:

"And make sure that they know to take care of you. They're lucky to have you- you're a very popular item." Amy blushed and continued. "Anyway, we miss you a whole lot! It's hard to believe that it's been five six years already! We miss you so much, and think about you every day! We've got personal notes at the bottom, but we wish you luck and hope to see you as soon as you return! Oh, and also- Ryoch is now an official ally of Galaluna! From us all, love you! Anyway, here are the notes:

AMY IT'S KELLY HI! I can't believe it's been so long, and that you're still… frankly, alive. From the sound of your adventures, you've gotten even tougher than I remember you. I'm so happy you found Lance! I remember how you would almost fawn over him every day. I hope that you're making friends on Earth! Make sure they treat you right! Oh, and remember that boy, Black, that we knew in second grade? He's my boyfriend now!" Amy raised her eyebrows and continued: "He's really sweet, and he's handsome now! Well, I'm running out of room, but I wish you the best and you better come back soon! And bring your family!

Love your unofficial sister and official best friend, ~Kelly~"

Amy stared at that one note for a long time, re-reading it, imagining Kelly's now mature voice reading it to her in her head. Lance noticed her turning around a friendship bracelet on her left wrist that she had worn since she got to Earth; she had since cleaned it of the dirt it had accumulated traveling from planet to planet, and in cleanliness he could see that it was a complex pattern of intertwining green and orange, an odd color combination pulled together by the complexity of the design. Since Amy loved orange, Kelly must have been the green. He remembered what his little sister said Kristina and Brandon gave her when she left, and noticed a newly befitted, beautiful silver-plated ring with four small diamonds on its surface. She must have just put it on after she landed, for fear of losing it in the war on Galaluna, because he couldn't remember it on her hand when she crash-landed. After a small nudge from him after many minutes, Amy came out of her reverie and continued the letter from Ryoch:

"OMG AMY I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S YOU! It's Kristina! So much has changed since you left! Ryoch's president got overthrown, I learned to like reading, and… um…me and Brandon are kinda going out now. It's…good. It's nice. Anyway, school is hard! I wish I had you to help me! I hope we can see you again!

Many salutations, Kristina

Hey, Amy! Hope you haven't forgotten little ol' Brandon! Well, I'm not so little anymore…I'm almost seven foot… heh… it's getting kind of hard to hold hands with Kristina- she hasn't grown much. She's barely five foot. I hope Earth is treating you well, and we all really want to see you as soon as you get back in the neighborhood. Hope your friends are treating you right- they should, from what I can remember you're amazing.

Yours Kristina's truly, (She made me write that) No, Brandon, stop. Kristina! This pencil doesn't have an eraser! Then stop writing! -Brandon"

Amy laughed. They were as comical as ever. She continued, and the next one was from Brenda.

"Dear big sistur,

I miss you a lot! I was only a littel girl when I last saw yu, but Ive grone up a lot! Mommy says I need to wurk on my spelling and punktuashion, but I dont see whats rong with it. Anyway I miss you a lot and I hope to see yu soon! Oh and I like butterflys now!

Luv, Brenda

P.S. Mommy told me ur story and what yu did to get home. We had to rite a paper in english class about heros, and I piked yu. Yu r my hero big sis! Luv yu!"

Amy was crying now, tears streaming down the sides of her face to collect in small pools around the wrinkles she got when she smiled. Lance sat down next to her and nodded at the paper to tell her to keep reading. Wiping her eyes, Amy continued:

"Dearest daughter," Amy touched a necklace dangling from her neck- the one Kate and Tod had given her when she left.

"Yes, we still consider you our daughter. After all these years, we can't even begin to tell you as parents parental figures how proud we are of you. At such a young age, to accomplish so much! And you finally found Lance! He's a very lucky man to have you for a sister. We just want you to know how proud we are of you! We know you'll come back as soon as you can, and we count down the days until we can see you again. We love you so much, sweetie.

Too much love to put on paper, Your Parents, Kate & Tod."

Amy's eyes were tearful again as she read the P.S.:

"P.S.: Amy, this is Kate- by the way, I'm pregnant again!"

Amy's eyes widened. "But", she wondered aloud, "Boy or girl?" she turned back to the letter.

"P.P.S. We don't know yet. It'll be a surprise."

Amy started laughing again. They knew her too well. Enclosed in the letter was a picture of everyone… how they had grown… next was the letter from Galaluna.

"Dearest Amy,

I trust from your last letter that you have been prospering on Earth, and am glad that you have been able to fit in. I would like to thank you once again for helping to protect my daughter- who I actually have to write a letter to now. I hope you don't mind my being brief, but I know you don't and I know you know that it's much more important to me to write Ilana. Stay strong, and enclosed is our military situation. I understand you're busy but I can guess you also miss your duties, and as we need you right now I expect a report back ASAP." Amy took out of the envelope several forms with complex drawings, figures, and descriptions, and grinned broadly. She'd missed this. Finally, some actual brain work. Earth math was boring. She continued, hoping for more, but instead found only the closing:

"Sincerely, the King."

She stared at the letter, beginning to panic. "No, no, _no!"_ she panted, and searched the envelope frantically for more. Finding nothing, she started staring straight ahead. "Jessica?" she whispered. What had happened to the search party she sent out to retriever her old friend from Mutrad? In her experience with the King, receiving no news about someone was most always bad news. Ilana took the letter from her hands while Lance put a hand on Amy's shoulder, trying to console her. The princess read the letter, and when she turned it over…

"Amy, look! It's double-sided!" The young girl's head snapped up and she started laughing at herself from relief.

"Well, that was stupid of me", she said as she took the letter from Ilana's hand and flipped it over. Gently she pried yet another small envelope from the tape on which it was stuck to, and when she opened it she smiled wide. Jessica had… grown. She was no longer the scrawny, shy brunette that she had last seen. Now she was tall and strong, with an outfit that she made look good, even by military standards. The girl was flashing an (ironic) peace sign, and was smiling at the camera while military personnel scurried in the background. She had dyed the tips of her hair blonde, and fitted to her side… a knife. Amy frowned. That wasn't like her. She read,

"Amy: Well, you kept your promise. I always knew you would. The rescue team you sent to Galaluna came back with me only two days after you left. That was disappointing, but when they told me you had gone to see your brother, I was stoked. You finally found him, Ames! Congrats! I'm, uh… A lot more outgoing now than I used to be. I actually fought your soldiers until I knew that you sent them- it took them a while to find me because I escaped the orphanage after you left and was wandering the streets rogue. Yeaaah….I've changed a lot. But according to your letter, you're as strong and beautiful and optimistic as ever. Go, Amy! Well, I've joined the Royal Guard-" Amy's eyebrows shot up and she continued reading: "And I actually have to go on a mission in about five minutes, so I should probably go. Come back soon! And… thanks. For saving me. I can't thank you enough.

Much love, Jessica"

Enclosed was a hair clip Jessica had made herself from metal scraps from Galaluna and beads from an old necklace she always wore that had broken beyond repair. Amy smiled- she had always been artistic. She pinned the clip in her hair to pull back her bangs, and turned to Lance. "Well, I suppose it's your turn to read your letter from Baron." Lance blushed, and Amy got the signal that the new relationship between the two of them was still too new and awkward and private for Lance to feel comfortable to read the letter aloud. "Or I could read my last one", she offered, and Lance quickly nodded.

Amy turned to the last letter- this one from Arnos, and said, "From my grandmother, Maya."

Or so she had thought.

Right before she had left, Maya had grown so old that Amy's assistance wasn't enough. She had to hire a young female nurse named Shaavi, a name traditional to the area in which she grew up. Shaavi was kind and efficient, and she and Amy became friends before the young girl had to leave. The letter enclosed was not Maya's writing… it was Shaavi's. It took Amy a while to read it, as she had to translate it from the native language of Arnos, but she was still fluent in reading the many scribbles of the language that made Lance's head spin just looking at it. She read:

"Amy,

I'm so glad you finally found your brother! I hope Earth is treating you well! I miss you, as well as Maya. I'll get to the point. Enclosed is Maya's letter to you. It was written a while ago, though, and she predicted everything that would happen- and I mean everything. Even the part about your princess and the robot. I think she was visited in a dream or had an epiphany, because the accuracy of her predictions are amazing. I admit, I read it out of curiosity one day, not knowing what it was."

Amy started to frown deeply. Something was not right here.

"Read Maya's letter before moving on in this one." Amy took out the other letter in the envelope Octus had printed out and read it. "My sweet Amy," she began.

"I always knew you would find your brother. You are a strong, determined-" Amy stopped for a second and squinted at the paper. "Well", she told the trio looking at her from where they had taken their seats, "there's no direct translation of that in English, but in this case it's meant as a complementing adjective somewhat equivalent to that of 'fierce'. Anyway-

"You are a strong determined, fierce young girl woman, and I hope you know how proud I am of you. You are my pride and joy as I never had children, and it warms my heart to see you accomplishing your dreams. I love you with all my heart, more than you can ever know. Kevin and Alexei miss you, and each confess their love for you." Amy raised her eyebrows and Octus detected (but didn't say aloud) that Lance's heart rate was spiking. Amy laughed as she read the next line. "Just kidding! But they do miss you a lot and wish you the best possible, and they both claim that meeting you has changed their lives- though I think that's a line that's said by anyone who has ever met you. Meeting you has made my life complete. I so proud of you and love you so much.

Your grandmother,

Maya"

Amy now returned to Shaavi's letter.

"Now that you've read that, I have to tell you something that you're not going to want to hear. Maya…died right after she got your letter."

The tearing in Amy's chest kept her from continuing, so Octus took the letter and using his translation programming, read:

"It really was uncanny- as if she was living just to hear word from you, as soon as I finished reading she just sighed and… went. I'm so sorry for your loss, but I hope I see you again. She really was quite old- she lived to the old age of 88 in your Earth years. She told me before we got the letter that if we ever heard back from you that her response was in a drawer in her desk. She said in her will that she wants you to speak at your funeral, and instructed it not to be held until you could return and attend. I hope you know how much she loved you… and still does.

Your sorrowful friend, Shaavi."

The tears streamed down for a great friend and too many memories lost.

-o-o-o-

No matter what they tried, they just couldn't console her.

Lance, naturally, was the most concerned about her. Being her big brother and knowing how hard it was to lose someone you loved so much that they were family, he wanted to make sure she was all right. But she wasn't, and in the end they all knew that. As if it wasn't bad enough that Maya was dead, she had died directly after Shaavi read the end of Amy's letter- all that left in the young General's mind was room to believe that if she hadn't sent the letter, Maya would still be living. Lance had never seen his sister cry so much in his life, nor had he seen so much pain behind eyes that were not his own. She retreated to her room, and even Lance didn't try to stop her. She carried a picture enclosed with the letters- the last remaining one outside of Octus's database of her and Maya.

That news obviously put a damper on the rest of the day, to say the least. Amy tried to apologize through her tears at ruining what was supposed to be happy news from home, but she couldn't choke out a couple of words through her sobs.

Lance's letter from Baron was nothing new. Well, it was new in the way that he filled in Lance on news from the war, but nothing major. Lance quickly wrote a response and apologized for his briefness. He remembered that Baron and Amy were friends, and shortly described what had happened, saying that if he didn't respond for a while after Baron's next letter than that was why. He sealed a picture of dull Sherman High and said, "at least you've got action". He gave it to Octus, who scanned it and sent it through a signal.

Octus also sent Ilana's response to her dad, which included a picture of the four smiling in front of high school- even Lance. Also included was a photo of just her, and the news of what happened to Amy to apologize for Ilana's melancholy tone in the letter.

So Amy retreated to her room to work on the military position on Galaluna, trying and failing to keep her tears from staining the paper.

-o-o-o-

Try as he did, Lance couldn't keep a sleep-deprived and wrecked Amy from going to school. He had brought her dinner last night, though she hadn't eaten at all, and insisted that she at least try to go to sleep before midnight. She had tried. It hadn't worked. If she was able to even drift away, she would just dream about Maya. Amy missed her so much it hurt. But no matter what he tried, Lance couldn't keep her from school. She insisted that she absolutely, positively needed to go to school that day. She had missed marching band practice yesterday from 3-5, and today was Wednesday- one of the busiest days of the week. So in the end, she gathered everything she needed for school, soccer, and marching band, piled in the back seat with Lance, and went off to school with her military work in her backpack.

That day was truly terrible.

She couldn't concentrate at all in Trig, which wasn't too bad since the math was easy. She worked on her military paperwork all throughout history since she had already read a week in advance, but soccer was tough. Since she got virtually no sleep the night before, she found herself lacking in the energy it took to play any position except goalie- and even then she had to lean against the goal post for support. Her teammates took notice and asked her what was wrong, but Amy would just turn away and fight back tears, which made them even more worried. Ilana took them all aside (or at least those who hadn't already heard the rumors) and explained that Amy had just lost her grandmother with whom she was very close to. Realizing that technically, since she and Lance and Amy were all under the story of being related, that Maya would've been her and Lance's grandmother, too, so she added that Maya lived in China to explain Amy's particular connection since she had transferred from there. She pinged Lance and told him to be aware that if anyone said "sorry for your loss" that they would be referring to Maya.

But before soccer, before history, and even before trig there was a different problem. Andre. Amy would typically see him in the morning when she would drop off her clarinet at the band room, and this morning he immediately became worried- along with the rest of her band and orchestra friends- when he saw her face. She found herself engulfed in a crowd, all wanting to know if she was okay or why she looked so tired and why her eyes were red and _what happened? _Hard as she tried, she just couldn't take it anymore and ran away. Andre caught up to her and asked her what was wrong. She choked back tears and gave him an abridged version that her grandmother had died and she really didn't want to talk about it, and the next time she shuffled away from him he let her go with a worried look on her face. The rest of the day he watched her from a distance to make sure she was okay, sensing that she needed space but still worried. Lance noticed this and he felt his distaste with Andre liking Amy soften a little. _Well, _Lance thought, _I can't say that he doesn't care about her, or know when she needs support. Maybe he's not so bad after all. _

During fourth period String Ensemble Mr. Gerome saw Amy had difficulty reading the music and asked what was wrong. Amy said that she was tired, it was nothing. When he teased her lightly about not getting enough sleep, she replied in an extremely rare sharp tone: "Well, sorry if I'm having trouble sleeping because my grandmother just died." They all stared at her and murmured their condolences. Mr. Gerome just sat there awkwardly and feeling bad until he continued rehearsal, and when in the middle of it Amy's eyes started to water her co-chair Mike gave her a soothing hug that quickly turned into a dogpile of violinists concerned about their friend. That only made her eyes water more.

During lunch Lance had trouble fighting off all the people that wanted to talk to Amy about her grandmother, even though she told them all she just wanted to be left alone. Ilana's words did nothing to repel them, and if Newton formed a force field in the cafeteria it would have been a dead giveaway that he was a robot. Kimmy put a remorseful hand on Amy's shoulder while she ate her sandwich, trying to console her. It did little, and the crowd was getting bigger- Andre sat watching the growing mass from the other side of the cafeteria, wondering if he should do something. His reason for finally doing so was seeing Amy shake trying to hold back the tears. As he helped Lance repel the curious onlookers, he was amazed at how much Amy had loved her grandmother. Lance looked over at the senior boy with something that was almost gratitude, but the trumpetist couldn't be sure as all his attention was diverted to the mass.

After that was chemistry, which was fairly uneventful, and then came Wind Ensemble- word had definitely gotten around by that time of what had happened, and all the whispers just made it harder. It had been a long day and she still had things to do after school- she wouldn't be able to take much more. Gerome let Andre sit next to Amy so she was wedged between him and Miranda so they could make sure she was all right, but the recent events in Amy's life caused the class to be so distracted that he cancelled practice and retreated to his office to input grades, inviting Amy along for peace and a break from all her concerned friends. It was nice to know that they cared, but all the questions and the talk was becoming too much, so she took his offer. She followed him into his disorganized office strewn with papers, tools for fixing broken instruments, broken instruments themselves, and random pictures his students had drawn. She was followed by Newton, Andre, and Miranda.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Asked Miranda quietly, and Amy just shook her head. "Okay then", said the small junior, and switched the topic to the upcoming dance.

"I'm going with Ethan", she said happily, and Amy smiled, grateful for the change of subject. "I just asked him yesterday and he said yes. It'll be fun!"

"I'm glad", said Amy with a tired grin. Newton offered his input on the subject:

"Kimmy asked me a while ago. She keeps on fussing about dresses. I don't get it, it's just a dance."

Mr. G overheard this and rolled his eyes at the tubist. "Dude, come one. I'm a fat old man and _I _understand the importance of dresses to women."

They laughed, and as the conversation continued, Andre asked rather awkwardly, "So, Amy, uh… are you asking anyone to the dance?"

She looked at him in surprise. "No, I wasn't really planning on it. Maybe I'll ask Mike as friends. Lance wanted me to go with him so he wouldn't have to find a date but I wouldn't let him." She smiled at the memory. She didn't notice when Andre cringed at her mention of taking _Mike _and _as a friend. _Amy turned to him: "So, what about you? Has anyone asked you yet?"

He shifted rather awkwardly. Miranda answered for him. "Yeah, didn't I hear that two different girls asked you and you said no to both of them?" They all looked at him curiously.

"Ah, well… yeah…"

"Why?" asked Amy, curious. Newton thought he saw Andre blush.

"Well, I've been waiting for someone else to ask me…"

"A girl you like?" Miranda asked, and at this question Amy felt a very odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like a little knot gnawing at her.

"Well, ah…yeah."

"Oooh, who?" Miranda kept up the barrage of questions, and Andre started blushing furiously.

"I'm not telling you guys that!"

They laughed.

-o-o-o-

Soccer wasn't so bad. In fact, it was almost good. The whole team showed their support for Amy by giving her a great big hug, and they convinced the coach (who also thought it a good idea) to let her just take a nap for the duration of the practice from 3-5. Amy insisted on playing, but she stumbled several times and in the end was forced by her teammates to sit down. She tried to stay awake and follow the practice, but the sun was so warm and the grass so soft that she soon lost consciousness. Amy dreamed lightly of Maya, but for the most part it was a restful nap and Ilana woke her up fifteen minutes before practice ended so Amy could hop over to marching band practice.

Marching band wasn't easy by any standards. Four hours of marching was exhausting on the two hours of sleep she had under her belt, and Amy kept on stumbling and playing the wrong notes. She would sleep during the breaks, and for the first time ever everyone in band was quiet so she could get some rest. It was really uncanny, and she was touched by their concern. She got a whole lot of hugs from all of her friends who heard what happened. Gerome let them out an hour early, but since Amy didn't have her license (something she resolved to change soon) she was stuck at school for another hour, so she just sat outside the band room and started working on her military work. She was almost halfway through it, and developed a good rhythm. Andre walked by, whistling, to find only Amy left. His car was having problems again, and his friend was coming to give him a charge, but he was a half hour away. Andre sat down next to her.

"What'cha doin'?"

She looked up after several seconds and blinked. "What?"

Andre laughed and ruffled her hair, looking over at her military tactics. "Whoah," he said before she could stow them away. "What's _that?_ I don't think they teach any math classes that sophisticated on campus."

"They don't", said Amy. "This is extracurricular."

Andre just shook his head in disbelief. Amy laid back and stared at the dark sky, full of stars. It was warm with a slight breeze, and as she had forgotten her jacket and the school was locked up, she was forced to stay outside. She pulled out the picture of her and Maya and shivered at a cool breeze. Andre shrugged out of his jacket and offered it to her with a light blush that she didn't notice, and she took it after he insisted and thanked him. She continued to stare at the picture in the dim light.

He lay down next to her. "That your grandmother?" he asked. She nodded sadly. "She taught me a whole lot. She would always tease me about the two boys I was friends with on Ar- in China. She said I 'loved them'."

He looked at her, uncomfortable by her last sentence. "How old were you?"

Amy shrugged. "Like eleven or so."

Andre laughed. "And what did you tell her?"

"That love was irrational."

Andre stared up at the stars with her, silenced. After a while, he said softly, "but you loved _her_."

She nodded sadly. "Was she on your mom's side or your dad's side?" he asked her.

She cringed. "She was actually just a friend that I met when I was alone in China, but I loved her like a grandma and she told me to call her 'grandma', so…I did."

"But", said Andre, "Isn't that kind of confusing to your other grandmothers?"

"Not really", she said in a small voice.

"How not?"

"Well," she explained, "Mr. Lunis, our dad, ran away when he was little so we don't even know where his mom is, much less have contact with her."

"And how about your mom's side?"

When Andre got no answer, he looked over to see Amy's silhouette shaking silently in the dark, the stars reflected like tiny sparkles in the tears streaming down her face. "Hey", he asked in alarm, "what's wrong?"

She couldn't answer. The day had been too much, and to ask about her mom… she covered her face. He sat up and took her hands away. "Amy?" he whispered, getting more and more worried. He had never seen her cry. She always seemed so strong and optimistic. Like nothing could ever break her.

But no one was like that. He realized that as he pulled her head onto his lap and wiped away her tears, trying to comfort her. Perhaps he was being bold, but he didn't care. He just wanted her to stop being sad. That weird burning feeling in his chest started to ache.

"My mom's d-d-…dead. She died a long time ago, and I never even knew her. I don't even know how she died, and neither does Lance or…Mr. Lunis, our dad." Andre felt like hitting himself over the hammer. She had just lost her grandmother and now he was bringing up her dead mom.

Great.

"I'm sorry", he murmured. And, after a moment's reflection: "Why do you call your dad by his last name?"

Amy realized she had dug herself into a hole by referring to Octus' 'dad' hologram by his formal name. She took a shot: "Well… I'm adopted. So are Lance and Ilana. Lance and I are actually siblings, but Ilana is adopted from a different family. Newton is Mr. Lunis' biological son, so it kind of explains why we're all so different with appearances."

Andre just looked at her. So her mom had died, her grandmother was dead, and her only real family was adopted.

"So you don't even have any real family?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he wished he could take them back. He was so stupid! She was crying again, and she sat up. He awkwardly put an arm around her shoulders, and before he knew it she was hugging him so hard he could hardly breathe. She was strong. His body shook with her sobs, and he hesitantly put his arms around her and hugged her back.

"No", she managed to choke out once she was done sobbing and pulled out of the hug. "That's not true. Lance is my biological brother, and I love him with all my heart. Ilana is like a true sister to me, and I can't imagine life without Newton. And besides that, I consider a lot of my friends like family. I may not have a whole lot of biological family, but I've got people who love me and care about me, like Mike and Miranda and the soccer girls and you." Andre was glad she couldn't see him blush in the dark, and Amy felt her heart beat irregularly for no reason when she realized what she had said in the last sentence. What was she feeling? This was totally foreign to her.

"And you know what?" she asked, her voice more steady now. "That's okay. That I don't have biological family besides Lance. Because family is defined by love, not genes. And it's even okay that grandma and mom died. Because…I loved them, and they loved me. And I can't ask for more than that." Amy lay back down as the sudden revelation hit her, that it really was okay that they had died. Because they had loved, and that was all that anyone wanted to accomplish in life- to love. Andre laid down next to her again, marveling at her optimism and astounded at her take on life. She was incredible.

The lay in silence until Lance came for Amy. In the parking lot he saw the two of them laying together and his hands tensed on the steering wheel. He honked, loud and long, and enjoyed watching Andre jump. Amy didn't, of course- she had military training. Andre's friend pulled into the parking lot, too, and he got up along with Amy to restart his car. She handed him back his jacket, and Lance narrowed his eyes- Andre had done _that _move. Really. She said good-bye and thanks, and climbed into Lance's car with all her stuff. As he turned the heat up, he asked, "What was that?"

"We were just talking about stuff," Amy said, clicking in her seatbelt.

"What kind of stuff?" He inquired suspiciously.

"I don't see why it matters," she answered, surprised by his tone.

"Well, I don't like you hanging out with him."

Amy wasn't getting the point. "I don't see the big deal- you hang out with Ilana all the time." She didn't realize that this was a terrible comparison as he liked Ilana, and taht made Lance think that Amy liked Andre, even though he knew she didn't- yet. He looked over at her, and jumped with rage at the drying trail where the tears had slid down minutes before.

"HE MADE YOU CRY!" he roared, and Amy locked the car when he tried to get out to go beat up Andre.

"Lance, Maya just died. I'm very prone to tears right now. And, anyway, he actually helped me a lot. I realize that it's fine that Maya's dead now, and even…even Mom, too." Lance stopped shaking and just looked her. She explained: "because we loved her, and she loved us, and there's nothing to regret."

He calmed down and drove home, admittedly jealous and a little resentful that Ilana's prediction that Andre would help Amy was already coming true, and that a senior boy she had known for only a month could help his little sister when he couldn't. He tried to let it go, and in the end was just happy that Amy wasn't so sad anymore. She explained to him what she told Andre about them all being adopted, and the family went over the new, more sensical story when they got home. Octus went in to the school database and changed "biological" to "adopted", and they all dreaded the fuss the school would have when word got out.

Amy slept soundly.

-o-o-o-

But he hadn't forgotten her tears from the previous night.

After school the next day, when no one was around, Lance found Andre in an empty hall just closing his locker. Quickly closing the space between them with three long strides, Lance noticed with dissatisfaction that they were the same height- Lance was usually taller than most boys at the school. Either way, Andre just looked at him and said, "Hey, Lance, what's u-" Lance interrupted him.

"If you ever make Amy cry again, I swear I'll beat you up so bad that you'll be in the hospital for a week. Understand?"

"She wouldn't let you. You wouldn't hurt her by betraying her like that."

Lance seethed, knowing Andre was right and starting to hate him again. But his next words actually made him almost…like him a little.

"But if it was up to me, I'd let you. Heck, I wouldn't do it in the first place if I could stop it. I don't _want _to see her hurting, but when I do, feel free to beat me up. Put me in the hospital for _two _weeks- anyone who makes her cry deserves it. But last night… I think it helped her. You're her brother, so you would know better, but from what I can gather her grandmother dying isn't so hard on her now."

Lance just blinked. Andre waved and left to go to his car, hoping it would start.

-o-o-o-

Amy finished her homework and looked out at the stars. Someday she would return to them and give Maya the proper sending-away that she deserved. Maybe she'd tell her about Andre.

_A friend lost, a lesson gained. _

**Important things from this chapter: Amy's linkage with Titan, Octus becoming more human, Andre doesn't have a date to the dance, Jessica in the Royal Guard, Maya's death, the 'adoption' story (super important), Lance's starting to accept Andre, and AMY AND ANDRE! Teehee :3**

…**..Nineteen pages in word. Six times the length of my typical English essay. Ten more hours. Please review. I think all this work is worth it. Sorry for the long wait! I've still got one more day of testing on Monday, but I did way better than I expected for my Alg. II/Trig test, especially on logarithms, which are really hard! English STAR tests are always stupid…we know how to read documents, and we know what metaphors are, really… it's 3:30 AM right now. Please review, I worked really hard on this! I'm actually starting to wrap it up, we should be done around chapter 20. Thanks to all of you who review and give me ideas! This story is for you! Also credit to my math teacher, Kearsley, for teaching our class the 'I believe' button whenever we ask 'why'. Don't ever ask 'why' in Alg. II/ Trig. You won't like the answer. Also I made all measurements standard to the US for ease of writing, and refer to the Galalunians' language as 'English' instead of 'Galalunian' so people won't get confused. So, yeah. Have a good day all **


	16. Chapter 15 and a half

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it wouldn't have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**Hey guys! So this isn't a full chapter, just a little short on Amy getting her driver's license, and Lance's prediction about it coming true- mostly. I would put in a little short of something else, but I can't think of anything that's not already a cliché :/ well, anyway, enjoy! I'm in a really good mood right now- why, you ask? Read the end note and find out! Enjoy ****. And sorry for any inaccuracies in the license process- I don't exactly have experience…And also I'm gonna bend the driver's license age to 15 instead of just a learner's permit for convenience. Or you could just pretend that Amy's sixteen- whatever floats your boat **

Chapter 15 ½

Amy sighed. "This is stupid. I know how to drive. They teach you on Ryoch how to drive when you're nine." She tilted her head back. "Then again, the cars also have mechanisms to adapt to the…shorter ones. These Earth cars are so primitive. They don't even have hover technology yet." Amy shook her head good-naturedly.

Lance laughed from the driver's seat as Ilana read him the directions to the DMV. "Okay, then, Ms. Know-Everything- who gets the right of way at a four-way intersection?"

"Whoever got there first."

"If they all got there at the same time?"

"Whoever's to the very right."

"Light colors and meanings."

"Green-go, yellow-red light approaching, stop if you can, red- stop."

Lance rattled off several more questions that had almost cost him his license, and Ilana even threw some in. When his little sister answered them all correctly without even hesitating, he sighed as he pulled into the DMV's parking lot. "Well, I think you'll be fine, as long as you remember which side of the road to drive on."

"Oh, that's easy," Amy said happily. "Left."

They were parked at the DMV now, and Lance turned around to face his sister, just staring at his little sister. It kind of unnerved her. "What?" she asked, to find that Ilana had turned around and was staring at her in the same way.

Silence. Silence. And then….

Lance burst out into laughter, and Ilana started giggling. "What?!" Amy demanded.

They caught their breath and got out of the car to walk her to the front desk. Lance wiped a tear from his eye.

"Ryoch's British!"

-o-o-o-

"Identification." The balding middle aged-man held out his hand wearily, and in it Amy placed her Sherman High ID card in his hand. It wasn't exactly like she had a driver's license for identification…at least not yet. The man sighed as he handed her the paperwork. "Please fill this out and then return it to the window in the far corner. Next."

Amy went and sat down in a chair, pulled a pen out of her bag, and started filling out the information. Lance sat down with Ilana, and rested his head wearily against the back of the chair. Ilana looked at him and smiled. "Tired from your party last night?"

Lance groaned and nodded. Amy, Ilana, and Octus had pulled together a birthday party at the bowling alley. He had considered it a little childish, but apparently the _seventy-eight people _who had showed up hadn't thought so. There had actually been more, but the bowling alley was small and had to turn them out. Considering that Ilana had only sent out ten invitations to their close friends, the turnout was quite unexpected. The cheerleaders had kept on stalking him, cooing and laughing at everything he said. He got so many "Happy 17th"s that night that if he had a nickel for every one, he'd be rich. Eventually, everyone had been kicked out when the alley closed at 11. It had been exhausting. Ilana's birthday party had only had about twenty people, a week or two before Amy crash-landed. Still, her party at their house had turned out the most people, with no breathing room in the house.

Ilana laughed. "There were quite a lot of people."

Lance nodded. "Yup. Kristen wasn't there, though," a tinge of disappointment coloring his usually indifferent voice.

Ilana cocked her head at Lance. "Who's Kristen?" she asked. Suddenly it dawned on her. "She's that girl you were talking to when you were leaning against the truck at the Scary Mary party a while ago, right?"

"Yeah", Lance said, closing his eyes from fatigue.

"So…do you like her?"

He opened one eye and looked at her, not detecting her slight blush (though Amy noticed it with amusement out of the corner of her eye from filling out her medical information). "Uh… As a friend, I suppose. She's cool. Why?"

"Just wondering." Now both his eyes were open, and she looked down at her feet in embarrassment. "I mean, you usually don't remember names."

"Oh." Lance closed his eyes again. "Well, she's in my history an Chem class, so it's a pretty easy name to remember."

"I see", Ilana murmured so quietly that only Amy heard it. The fifteen-year-old girl filling out paperwork gave a small smile and returned to her task. Inwardly she wondered if Lance would ask Kristen to the dance, but she wasn't about to ask him that question in front of Ilana, for obvious reasons.

Once all the paperwork was filled out, Lance and Ilana left and told her to call them to come pick her up, and Amy went into a room for the written portion of the test. She passed with flying colors, and advanced to the most difficult part of the process- the live test-drive. As she walked out Amy saw a navy blue van with the "student driver" sign on the top, and a head of hair bent over in a small nap. She smiled and climbed into the car, and seeing that the instructor had the keys in his hand, she leaned over and woke him up. "Hey, time to get up", she said in a singsong voice, and the young man awoke with a yawn and a stretch…

A handsome young man.

Amy noticed with slight appreciation his dark hair, fair skin, and hazel eyes- his face was perfectly proportioned, with his muscular chest sticking out with definition from his shirt a lot like Lance's. He was wearing long khaki pants, and his hair was all messed up from his nap. The man couldn't have been older than twenty, and as he ran a hand through his hair to tame it he threw her the keys. "I'm Kevin. Obviously, your instructor- now let's get his over with so I can get back to sleep."

"So sorry to have woken you", Amy said sarcastically but with a friendly smile as she turned the keys in the ignition and it came to life with a satisfying rumble. "What's my course?"

"Out the lot, around Albertson's, past the mall, make a u-turn past Baja Fresh, and I'll tell guide you back here on whims after that."

"Sure thing", Amy said, and pulled out of the lot, remembering to drive on the _right _side of the road. Which made her remember- she didn't quite understand the joke that Lance had made earlier. Keeping her eyes on the road, she asked him: "Which side of the road does Britain drive on, again?"

"The left," Kevin said while he stared out the window, and Amy laughed silently as she suddenly understood Lance's joke. Her instructor continued to stare at the passing scenery.

Amy saw his indifference with amusement at a red light. "Aren't you supposed to be grading me?"

"Pfft", Kevin laughed. "I don't really care. I just do this so I can make a few extra bucks on the weekend. But, here, if it'll please you I'll take some notes, okay?"

"Thank you", Amy laughed.

Kevin saw her name and looked up in surprise. "Your last name is Lunis?" Amy nodded, and Kevin smiled. "You know, Shayna- the driving instructor- still has nightmares about your brother's test."

Amy chuckled. "Yeah, he told me about that. I feel bad for her, but hey, who can control when aliens appear?"

Kevin nodded. "Yup." Amy was taking the u-turn past Baja Fresh, and when she asked where to go next, he said with amusement: "Go into that restaurant parking lot right there and park."

Amy did this, and looked after him in confusion when Kevin got out of the car. When he waved her on she took the keys out of the ignition and locked it, hurrying after him. By the time she was caught up, he was being seated in the Chinese restaurant. She kept on staring at him until he asked, "Chicken chow mein or chicken teriyaki?" When Amy didn't respond, he looked over his menu at her amused glare. "What?"

"…."

"I'm hungry, sue me." Kevin rolled his eyes and eventually ordered some wontons, while Amy got a salad. She laughed and went along with it, and they talked until their food came.

"You know", Amy said thoughtfully, "before I moved here I had a friend named Kevin."

"Oh, really?" asked Kevin. "We look alike?"

She laughed. "Oh, not at all. He has blond hair and freckles, but I suppose you've both got fair skin and the same windblown hair. His eyes are green, too, and I'll admit that both of you have stunning eyes."

Kevin raised his eyebrows. He got compliments a lot, and mistook her last comment. "Honey, I'm too old for you."

"What?"

"You're flirting with me, right?"

Amy stared at him for a second before laughing so hard that it became silent and her whole body shook. Eventually she wiped the tears out of her eyes and, looking at the confused driver instructor, said, "Please. No. Don't worry about that. And anyway, I wouldn't need to flirt- I'd just seduce you with my social awkwardness."

The restaurant's foundation had a hard time resisting the shakes of their laughter.

-o-o-o-

They got their fortune cookies along with the bill. Having a bit of fun first, Kevin opened his and read: "One who is stubborn may often choose the wrong path." He shrugged and tossed it aside.

Amy's read: "Stop looking for true love- you have already found it." She laughed. "Yeah, right", she said. _Just a fortune cookie, _she thought. She opened the bill, counted up her side of the tab and got out her wallet. Kevin just sat there looking at her expectantly.

She glared at him. "You're kidding me."

"I'll give you an A."

"I would've gotten one anyway."

Kevin paused for a sec. "I'll fail you if you don't."

Amy sighed. "This is blackmail." She paid for both of their meals, left a tip and left. Upon returning to the DMV, they parted ways and Amy called for Lance to come pick her up. She got her picture taken (she was always so photogenic, and it came out perfectly), and Lance congratulated her on the ride home.

"So, how was the test?"

"Eh, normal," his little sister said with an inward smile. "I can get a car now!" she exclaimed happily. She had been eyeing a Prius for a while now. Lance looked at her out of the corner of his eye, bemused.

"And what makes you think that you'll get a new car?"

"Octus can materialize money, right?"

Lance stared at his old-fashioned car as this realization dawned on him.

"…I think I'll get a new Mustang, too."

**Tee hee! I know it's not a full chapter, but I figured I'd churn out a little snack- chapter 15 1/2! This chapter isn't really relevant to the story, except that she can driver herself home now. Not my best work, I know, I'm sorry **** Credits to my best friend Sarah, with her quote: "I don't need to flirt, I seduce you with my social awkwardness." True for the majority of us fangirls out there, I'm sure- or at least for me. Also, a humongous thanks to all of my reviewers! Your kind words put me in a great mood for a while! Some of you have said that you think I might have been one of the original writers for SBT ~ I think I'm going to cry :,) with joy, of course! I start spasming whenever I read something like that. My friends think I need help when I randomly start grinning like a maniac in Bio because I just read a review. **

**Anyway, so why am I so happy? I GOT A COMPLIMENT FROM MY MUSIC TEACHER! That's super rare, and in short this is what happened: He basically said he thought I would make a good section leader or drum major next year, which is amazing because that's a huge responsibility and requires a lot of skill – and he said I have potential, and that I could be good! Some of you might not understand compliments like that, but they're the kind that, when you get them, you're undeniably euphoric for a week. You sing in the shower. It's amazing. Well, I should get to bed. I'm so tired and I have a Spanish test tomorrow… and math… ugh. Well, anyway. Night, and I look forward to updating. Review! **


	17. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to **_**lack of merchandise. **_

**Special thanks to: everyone who reviews, follows, and faves! Thanks so much! As always, this chapter is for you!**

**Hey guys! I'm so in love with this chapter idea (and the idea for the next) that I'm spasming out in CCP! The guy next to me just asked what a disclaimer was… oh, my. Well, anyway, this isn't the last chapter but we're definitely wrapping it up here. Something I forgot to put in the earlier chapters was that the Spring Dance was actually Prom. I can't believe I forgot that… how stupid of me… well, anyway, it's Prom, and you can probably guess how this will go *winks*. The actual Prom scene will be continued in the next chapter, because it would have taken even longer to write and I didn't want to keep you waiting any more than I already have (sorry for that, end of school is a lot of work). I also paraphrased part of Andre's quote from a deviantART person, look at the bottom for the person and their link- they're extremely awesome! Anyway, read, enjoy, and review! **

Chapter 16

"It is safe to return to Galaluna."

Lance, Ilana, and Amy all turned with astonishment as Octus told them the news that he had just received from the King.

"We can- and are expected to- return ASAP."

-o-o-o-

The departure date was terrible- the night of the spring dance, the night of Prom. As if they weren't already going to lose enough, a night of fun had been turned into a night of parting. Of course, none of them had a date to Prom except for Octus (he wasn't looking to having that conversation with Kimmy), but that wasn't the point. It was cruelly ironic that Prom was the only night that the rift gate could be opened from both sides so they could get back home- the only night for the next year.

They were all numb. The day after Octus told them- a Thursday- was filled with jumbled voices, all gargling, as if they were filled with water. The four of them walked through the halls seeing nothing, hearing nothing… feeling nothing. It was a stab to the heart (or processor) for each of them, each in a different way.

For Ilana, who had taken refuge on this planet to escape her own burning one, she had found so much on this planet to fall in love with, and it had given her ideas on how to improve her own planet. It made her realize that the commoner faced problems that were never presented to a princess, often harder than she ever had to deal with. It made her realize that people needed hope that things would get better, and while that wasn't always provided by the government that it should to the best it can to help. It made her realize how much a government was truly for its people, and how much the people depended on the government to help. Overall, though, staying on Earth made her realize that there were things that were more important than being a princess- being a person.

Lance might not have wanted to admit it, but being on Earth had done him some good, too. Anger management, for example. Disregarding the whole street-racing road-rage incident, and Mike Chan in general, Sherman was so calm (though not without its drama) and different from the Royal Guard that he had learned, little by little, to control himself. (Of course, he would still go berserk if anyone so much as touched Ilana [or Amy, for that matter], but that wasn't going to change.) He had learned to see more than just destruction, death, chaos, misery, sadness… he had learned to see something more in everyday life- not quite beauty, not yet, but more like…. Positivity? He wasn't quite sure, but Lance knew that even if none of that had ever happened, Earth had given him two other things for which he would go through this all over again for- Amy and Ilana. Two irreplaceable miracles- though he would never tell them that.

As for Octus, Earth had been… interesting, indeed. He had learned many new things that were now installed in his programming, but of course the…biggest…. Impact on his robotic life had been Kimmy. Who would've guessed that a simple teenage girl- nothing special, just a bundle of muscle, bones, and other assorted body masses- could have changed him so much? For her to activate within him a new kind of programming that had never before been felt by a robot, to change his very species and classification to something beyond just a robot but not yet human- Something he couldn't even explain! Earth and Kimmy, to Octus, had been more than just an experience to gather data about these Earthlings- it had been an opportunity to live life- or at least to process it- in a way that mattered.

And then there was Amy… what had Earth given her? After all the planets she had been to- Ryoch, with her second family- Arnos, with its strange clicking and flowing language- Mutrad, with all of its horrors- Galaluna, with all of what she thought of as her original home. After seeing all these planets, with their advanced technologies and societies, rules and procedures so much complex than this primitive planet, after traveling across foreign worlds only to arrive at this one, what could Earth have possibly given Amy that she hadn't already gained elsewhere?

The answer was actually quite simple. Earth had given her happiness.

Sure, Ryoch and all of her friends and new family had been gratifying to say the least, Arnos had provided wisdom beyond the years of even Maya, and Mutrad had taught her to appreciate virtues, with Galaluna stressing the importance of peace and connection within oneself, but at the end of each of those planets she never felt settled. She either knew that at some point she would have to leave, or felt that she should. There was an Earth saying: "Home is where the heart is". Amy's heart had always been with her brother, and reuniting with him on Earth made her happier than she had been in a long time. What had Earth given her? What did this strange planet teach? The simplest and perhaps most gratifying virtues that existed.

Happiness and home.

And they all had to leave.

-o-o-o-

They decided not to tell anyone.

Both Lance and Ilana remembered their little AWOL stunt back when Octus had been deactivated, and how hard it was without realizing it to be away from their friends. Their reunions had already hurt- none of them thought that they would be able to bear the parting with their friends begging them not to leave. Instead they all wrote letters- the cover story was that there were reasons that they couldn't explain, but they were all moving on emergency leave to the middle of the Canadian wilderness, where mail wouldn't be able to be delivered. Ilana wrote to her friends in soccer, on the homecoming committee, each of her teachers, and Jason. Lance didn't have anyone to really write to except for Kristen, seeing as how he was so antisocial that he didn't really know anyone. He wrote small notes to his old band mates in Disenfranchised, too (not without a slight accusation of an unfair ejection from a certain band on a certain teenage boy's social status). Newton, being the only one in a relationship, was the only one to tell someone of their leave before it actually happened. He explained the situation to a bawling Kimmy, during which he got so 'emotional' that his 'stomach' started to 'hurt'. He also wrote to Meat, and left a proof of several unsolved math theorems for his calculus teacher. Amy wrote so much her hand hurt- all her soccer friends, marching band friends, Wind Ensemble friends, and String Ensemble friends- especially Mike, Miranda, and…and Andre. That one was hard to write. She couldn't seem to get the words out, couldn't explain to him that she was leaving without so much as a good-bye after all that they had been through, never to be seen again. The memories started to flood back…

"_Aw, come on, you chicken?" She teased him as he looked at the hamburger with a twisted face. _

"_No…"_

"_Then eat it!" Andre continued to stare in horror at the burger with ketchup on it. He didn't like ketchup, but Amy had dared him- and he never backed down from a dare, especially in front of a girl. "Just be glad I didn't add mustard", she taunted, and his face grew even more horrified. _

"_Fine", he growled, and took a bite with his eyes closed. They snapped open. "Hey", he said in surprise. "This is good!" _

_Amy laughed. "Told you!"_

And another memory…

_They were just walking along in the dark, back towards the band room. It was a Wednesday night, and they were the last ones walking back from the band field after helping to clean up all the microphones and such on the field. They were talking about the rising of the band _Disenfranchised_, and Andre forgot the crack in the middle of the walkway and tripped. Amy tried to catch him but his leg accidentally tripped her, and she came down with him. They laughed. _

More memories- memories of the most ordinary moments that they had shared- eating, talking, laughing- and some of the most extraordinary- getting first place in the final round of MBOS (an extremely presitgous marching band competition). She realized how much she would miss him, and her heart felt like it was tearing. As it turned out, she didn't ask anyone to Prom- she was going to ask Mike as friends, but didn't when they got the news.

They were leaving, and all of their tuxedos and dresses collected dust in their closets.

-o-o-o-

The days flew by, and suddenly the day of Prom- and the day that the 'Lunis' family left- was here. Girls all across the school were giddy, and boys nervous, whispering in the halls about the best place to get a corsage, and things to make sure not to say to make their girlfriends' parents hate them. Each good-bye the Lunises had to say was like a stab in the chest, and as everyone walked nonchalantly away, they didn't know that they would never again see their friend. They would be lost to the 'Canadian wilderness'- aka Galaluna.

And then came the night.

The Galalunian pod would come to collect the four and the few belongings they could take from Earth at midnight Sherman time. Kimmy stuck by Newton's side all day, and into the night. They all ate dinner and reminisced times on Earth. Tears were shed, but the time just kept on whizzing by. Soon, it was nine thirty. Prom had started, but Kimmy told Newton that she didn't want to go to Prom if she couldn't go with him. That tugged at his processer wires [heartstrings]. Amy retreated to her room to think.

Lance watched her go with concern, but was stopped from following her by Ilana's hand on his shoulder. She shook her head. "She's leaving a lot behind, more than she ever has before. She needs to be alone." Lance looked sadly after her but nodded and sat down.

But that didn't stop another handsome young man from running into her room several minutes after her retreat. Lance had to be refrained from Ilana, Newton, and Kimmy from stopping the boy that went to Amy, but even the young corporal realized that Amy had to give the young man a proper good-bye, that he deserved it. Because they all knew at that point that Andre was completely, irrevocably, and painfully in love with Lance's little sister.

-o-o-o-

He hadn't even taken his car. Running the entire way to the Lunis household, he reflected on what Kimmy had told him.

She figured he deserved to know that the girl he loved was moving that night, never to be heard from again. She had just managed to call him while she was in the bathroom. They didn't want anyone knowing about it. If he didn't come _right now,_ the only good-bye he would get from Amy would be a letter. Kimmy would've told Andre at school, but she couldn't find him.

No wonder Amy had seemed so sad today and wouldn't tell him why. He panted as he sprinted down their street, into their house, past the stunned occupants at the dinner table, and into Amy's room without even knocking. He wouldn't let this happen.

He found her lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling with an expressionless face that scared him, that made their move real. She looked at him in astonishment as he burst through her bedroom door and slammed the door behind him. She stood up from her bed, and started walking over to him. "Andre? What the h-?!"

"You are NOT leaving me", Andre growled, putting his hands on her shoulders, his eyes dangerously on fire. She looked at him.

"Wh-"

And he kissed her.

In the middle of her bedroom, with that fire in his eyes and the sadness and fatigue in hers, he put his hands on her shoulders, pressed his face to hers, and kissed her to make her stay.

His hands slid up to the back of her head, and he pressed her face even harder against his. He felt their lips melt together, and after a moment of processing, she…well…

You see, Amy had never been kissed before. It was a delayed automatic reaction. With her military training, well… she flipped him.

Luckily, onto her matress, but still. She collapsed sitting onto the edge of her bed, and the tears started running down her face. The expression in her eyes was excruciating, and as Andre slowly got up from the bed and sat next to her, he sighed. He went to put a comforting arm around her, but she shrugged it away. He tried to ignore the fact that that hurt.

"Please", Amy croaked, the weariness in her eyes bleeding into her voice. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"Any harder than it has to be." Andre's voice became hard, stone cold. "And that means writing me a _letter _that I'll never see you again."

"Kimmy told you?"

He nodded. "I had a right to know. You're my best friend, and you're… you're more than that. I should get more than a letter."

Amy sighed. "I know. I know you're right. It's just…I've had too many good-byes. I've had to say good-bye to people who became my family, the closest and only and first friends that I had ever had. So many so-longs, too many farewells…. I can't take any more of it. They say that when one door closes another door opens, but...I don't want to leave. I finally found a home. And now I'm moving to-" she hesitated, seeming to search for a word. "…Canada."

Andre frowned at the way she hesitated when she said "Canada". Like…like she wasn't going there at all. Like…she was hiding something. Amy saw the realization that she was lying dawn in his eyes along with the hurt that came with it. And, right here, she hated herself. She hated herself for lying to him, for hurting him…for not being able to stay with him.

"Tell me the truth", he whispered. "I know you're not moving to Canada. No one just _moves_ to Canada. There's something…strange about you, something that I can't put my finger on. Something besides just being wonderful and beautiful, something way beyond just those things. There's something that I don't know about you- and that bothers me. I used to just accept it. Everyone has secrets, and I realized that, so I was fine with it. But now I'm not. Because whatever your secret is, it's taking you away from me…and that is _not _okay."

She sighed. "Look, Andre-"

"Just _tell_ me."

"It's not _mine_ to tell!" Amy exclaimed in exasperation. "I wish I could tell you everything, Andre, I do. I wish you already knew, so I wouldn't have to tell you. But you have to understand that there's so much more to all of this than you can possibly realize, and I'm sorry, but that's all that I can tell you about _that _ secret. And I would tell you more of mine- I would tell you _all_ of mine- but they're not mine to tell, either! But, then, what can I tell you? I can tell you that I've travelled thousands and thousands of miles and more to get home- I've been a part of and had to leave families and friendships and whole _countries and cultures _that you have never seen and maybe never _will_ see, and all to get _home_. But, more specifically, to get back to Lance. Because he's all I have left, or all I _had _left, and now I finally found him and I found a home and…I have to leave, right when I found something worth staying for. And, yeah, I've got more secrets right now than you'll have in a lifetime. But you're going to have to accept the fact that you can't know them. You might, someday. But not now."

Everything was quiet, deathly quiet. Amy was looking at her knees, and when she finally got up enough nerve to look up, she saw the strangest thing…

He was smiling.

"You're so amazing", he said softly. "I don't think I've ever met someone as loyal, real, or incredible as you are. Just… amazing."

She smiled a little, still crying, but her eyes remained sad, and his weary eyes soon returned, too.

"But, you see, Amy, there are a couple of things that I still can't handle. Things that have nothing to do with secrets, just you leaving." She cocked her head curiously. He took a breath to steady his nerves and continued. "Too many missed opportunities. I can't handle never being able to hold your hand, to lie in the grass and look up at the stars, to take walks together and to have you laugh at how awkward I would be when I would try to make the first move. To never meet you after classes, help you carry your books to the halls or say "to heck with a fancy restaurant we're having a pizza and video game night". To never again hear your witty humour, or to tell you that you're beautiful and have you genuinely believe it. To never dance together, or take car rides, or sit together on the couch with a scary or romantic or funny movie, or to call you up in the middle of the night to tell you I'm outside your door with roses or to hold hands or even just to _talk_. There's no way that I'm going to miss all the things that I've wanted to do with you the minute that I realized that somehow I was in love with the most beautiful and funny and _amazing _girl on the planet- you. Because there's no one else I'd ever want to do that with."

Amy just stared at him. Of all the things she thought he'd say, that speech certainly hadn't been one of them. 'Stay', or 'I'll tell Gerome he'll lose his best musician and he'll go ballistic on you if you leave', or 'Think about everyone who will miss you'. She had expected threats, pleads, and guilt trips. But she hadn't expected him to be honest with her.

She hadn't expected him to admit that he loved her.

And now he was sitting next to her, staring at her with those beautiful blueish-green eyes full of sadness and love and hope and a plea to stay, his trademark half-smile on his lips, his cheeks flushed, every inch of his face was screaming that, yes, he was in love with her.

And every inch of Amy's heart and every inch of her head was screaming that she loved him back.

So she kissed him. She didn't flip him, and she didn't break away. It was gentle at first, careful, trying to stay behind the border lines. But that soon changed, and the kiss became fiercer, deeper, more passionate, both of them the laying the beings of who they were before each other and at the same time laying claim to the other. The tears started streaming down their eyes, but they were happy tears- and when they finally broke away they were laughing, holding hands and leaning against each other.

As their heart beats slowly steadied, they didn't release hands. Andre surveyed the room- things were being packed up, and Amy's closet was half-open with boxes of clothes strewn around it. He saw a glimpse of a white, sparkling dress in the closet and realized it must have been Amy's Prom dress, before she realized she was going.

"It's really pretty", he said, getting up to get a better look at it. "You know, I even rented a stupid tux. It's in the trunk of my car at home, about five minutes away. I went into the store and had absolutely no idea what size I was, so it took three girls, one guy, five tuxes- one of them which I ripped a seam on- and an hour of frustration to finally find one that fit and, according to the girls-" Andre mimicked the girls' high voices: "Doesn't clash with my complexion".

Amy laughed, trying to imagine three girls trying to shove a tux over Andre's head as he struggled to try and get them to stop with a very amused salesman watching the whole event. So Andre.

"You know," he said, eyeing her dress, "Prom started a half an hour ago."

Her eyes lit up. "Hmmm…." Amy teased thoughtfully. "I wonder… Mr. Andre, king of dirty jokes with a soft side and a very handsome tuxedo, would you like to go with Prom with me tonight?"

He turned and grinned. "I've been waiting for you to ask me that."

"So, that's a yes?"

"Definitely."

**Hehehehe. Don't worry, the whole next chapter is going to be on what happens at Prom. Which will be a LOT, so yay! I know that it isn't my best chapter- I wanted it to be so much better- but it's the best I can do, with my brain so burned out. Soooo sorry I took so long to update! I've got a crudload amount of finals approaching, and trig especially I'm going to fail at. Guess what I got on my latest Ch.8 test? 40%! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I HATE MY LIFE**

**Anyway, school ends this Tuesday (the 11****th****) for us so expect frequent updates after that. And then Marching Band starts on the 12****th**** so YAY! Haha I fangirl about marching band a lot ;) Aaaanyway, here's the deviantART person and their link below, whom I quoted in Andre's little 'I-have-a-problem-with-you-leaving' speech. If you're a girl, it's pretty much a list of every single fantasy you've ever had of things you'd like to do with your crush/boyfriend. The person who wrote it is really good, so here they are:**

**Anaxandreah on deviantART. Here's the link (though I don't know if autocorrect will let me post it): **

**And then there's also another dedication. This one is to Andre. **

**The real. Andre. **

**Yeah, that's right. I based him off of a real person. I actually based his pervertedness off of another senior named Ander (hehe, word play), but the rest is just the real-life Andre G. He's a senior this year, graduating in two days, so below is my dedication to him for this chapter (which is ironic that he actually knows virtually nothing about this fanfic, he only saw the story on my phone once):**

**Oh, Andre. Andre, Andre, Andre. He's an absolutely amazing person (he's pretty good-looking, too), and I'm honored to have gotten to know him. I'm in MUN with him, and he's an amazing delegate, speaker, and friend. He has a way of making you laugh and listen to him seriously at the same time within a speech about HIV/AIDS in Africa (the type of things that we discuss in MUN), and I really wish I could have gotten some speaking tips from him. To put it in his own words, "Whose to say what the future holds? We might meet again someday, we might not. The point is that there was in fact a beautiful interlap between our beautiful paths. For a second there, we were together, and now we will be apart, and you will have to speak unto the cosmos alone." And the interlap truly was beautiful. I really do hope that our paths cross again. He's extremely smart (he got into**_** Duke**_** and then fricking said **_**no… to Duke. He said no to Duke.**_**) and overall amazing, especially to tolerate such a talkative, annoying freshman as I was (and still kind of am). I was so surprised when he chose me to be his co-chair for our annual MUN conference, and his immense sarcasm never ceases to put a huge grin on my face. His IB paper was a treat to read, and I wish him the best at USC. His funny faces are the best, and I'd like to thank him for always being there for me, whether I knew I needed it or not. When I'm a senior I hope to have a lot of his qualities. At some point along the way I think I may have had a crush on him, though I'm not completely sure. Either way he's been a great friend, an excellent mentor and one of my favorite people to have known. If I ever see the name "Andre G." on a presidential election ballot, I'll know who to vote for (but it'll be an intense race between him, Bryce, and Chris). I wish him the best in life. I know he'll be able to do absolutely anything, and hope he comes back sometime. He's amazing, and I'd like to thank him for all the great times we've had together. Next year won't be the same without him. Good-by, old friend.**

**I'll try to update as soon as possible. Review, please. **


	18. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to ****_lack of_****_merchandise_****. **

**Hey! I'm not even going to bother apologizing for the delay because: 1) I can't apologize enough, 2) I've pretty much covered it whenever I told you guys it was going to be a while, 3) come on. We've been doing this for, like, four months now. I think you guys have figured out I am the Queen of the Procrasti-Nation, population myself and anyone else who wants to slack off, ignore everyday domestic life, or has so much actual stuff to do that they procrastinate the things dubbed less important by our parents (or our consciences). (Hehe, Queen of Procrasti-Nation, little inside joke there with JD Lance). I could go into the many subdivisions of my fine nation (Anime, food, sleep, more anime, re-runs of Dr. Who and Sherlock, etc.) but none of you actually care and probably just want to get to the good part in Prom, so I'll shut up now. Read, review, and enjoy. **

**Oh, one last quick little thing: dedicated to my mother, now fifty on this very day, though she knows of this fanfic she hasn't actually read it (thank goodness, I'm a very different person outside of fanfic and she would look at me very strangely for several different reasons). Okay, I'm done, now read. **

Chapter 17

After Andre had rushed into Amy's room (and Ilana, Newton, and Kimmy had let go of him when they were fairly sure they wouldn't rush after the young man and throttle him half to death), Lance had retreated to his own. There were a lot of things rushing through his mind right now that he needed to clear, and he wished he had Amy to help him through it, but she was probably going through some tough times of her own right now trying to explain things to Andre in a way that made sense to him but didn't give away any secrets about who (or what) the Galalunians really were. Lance sighed. How was it that even his little sister had found someone to...love (the word was difficult for Lance to even think about in respect to his little sister and another boy)... after being here on Earth for such a shorter time than he had? He sighed, already knowing the answer.

It wasn't exactly correct to say that he hadn't found someone to love here on Earth. But Earth really had nothing to do with it. The girl that he liked wasn't even from the planet.

He sighed again. What cruel circumstances the universe thrust upon him, day after day, every moment of his life. First his mother dying, then Amy disappearing, then his dad vanishing into thin air (really, what are the odds of that) when testing a rift gate device for the King, then Baron soiling the only good thing that would have ever happened at the Royal Academy, and then being called a traitor by a lying lieutenant and having his planet destroyed less than a day after. And now, this. The cruelest circumstance of them all.

Love.

To fall in love with the princess was something completely unimaginable. To have it be something he couldn't back out of was something even more so. Since the news, Lance had often found himself wishing for more time on Earth. Not because he had friends here (he really didn't). Not because he liked this wretched planet (while it had given him many good things, the planet itself and many of the people on it he despised). Because he didn't want to go back to Galaluna...yet.

True, upon arriving on Earth Amy had promised Lance that when they returned to their home planet he would be promoted, moved up through the ranks of the Galalunian Royal Guard to a quite outstanding position. Given what would obviously be considered on Galaluna as his 'excellent performance in the protection of the princess in the face of danger from the enemy' (or some other ridiculous formal garble like that), he would probably even be allowed to continue being Ilana's protection (most likely along with Hobbes, should he still be alive and able to continue his duties upon their return) if he requested it to be so (and he most certainly would), but... things were different on Galaluna. The social hierarchy, customs and overall way of just _doing things_ was a bit more complex than that of Earth. Upon their return, Lance and Ilana's relationship would become something simply diplomatic, if not something even more infuriatingly domestic. Lance groaned and leaned back on his bed. Another thought occured to him, something deeper, something darker.

Did he even want them to be together?

The thought sent a piercing pain through his stomach when he realized what he was asking himself. The question was obviously much deeper than just the words supplied - of _course _Lance wanted to be together with the princess in a relationship, but did he really want her to see the real him? The things that he had gone through in his lifetime... was enough pain to paralyze anyone if they so much as thought about it. Which was why Lance didn't. The others always saw him as so closed off, so reserved... they thought he was just a sociopath who only liked to get up close and personal on the battlefield. It hardly ever occurred to any of them (besides Amy, of course, but then she knew him better than anyone else in the universe) that there was a _reason_, a real reason as to why he did that. They all knew his history. They all knew what he had been through, and when the occasion arose that his past was somehow uncovered the others wouldn't quite pity him (they weren't so stupid to do that), but... they would just look at him with those sad eyes, seeming to apologize for nothing that they did wrong. But there was so much more pain than anyone really realized. No one realized...

No one realized that it was all his fault. Or, at least, that he had to live with the feeling that it was.

He couldn't care enough at the time to inquire further into the death of his mother. He couldn't protect his sister, and he couldn't make his father love him enough to stay. There had been many times (G3, that weird amphibian thing, and of course that gloopy stuff that had invaded the school) when Lance had even failed (or nearly had) to protect the princess of a planet. To protect the woman that he loved. All of that was on him, along with all the facts of the inabilities he possesed (or, rather, _didn't _possess) to protect the things and people that he truly cared about.

So was it even safe for him and Ilana to be together?

Lance rubbed his temples. His head hurt. He heard a light clang outside from downstairs, but he ignored it. The door to the backyard had been rusty for a while now, and Newton (being the perfectionist that he was) was probably trying to fix it up before they left. He stayed like that for a long time, not thinking, not doing anything. He might have been trying to sleep, but Lance was concentrating too much on his 'nothingness' state to be able to sleep, anyway.

_What do I do?_ He wished once again that he could go to Amy for help, but she was probably in a state of her own still, and either way he was almost a full-grown man that had to stop going to his little sister for love advice. He could imagine her scolding him in his head and he chuckled. Before he knew it, he was talking to that little image of her inside his brain (which would have been disturbing to him if he wasn't already so tired).

_Lance, dude, _she said. _What do you want me to do about it? _

Imaginary Lance shrugged. _I dunno. Motherly advice, or sisterly advice, or whatever kind of advice your're capable of giving, because it's  
better than what I have right now._

What do _you have right now?_

Nothing.

Imaginary Amy sighed. _I'm not here to run your life- I'm not really even _here _at all, just an image created by your brain to help you cope with your problems- but I suppose I can try. You see, love is a...great thing, really. It's the most powerful motivator in the world. Sadness paralyzes, anger irrationalizes, and any other emotion is either too dull or irrelevant to actually make anyone do anything. But love... love has moved mountains, created them, and shaped them in the form of a heart. Love is____**the**__ most powerful force in the universe, because it's so amazing, so uncharted, and so different for every person who experiences it. But, no matter how you may look at it, it is the best thing that will ever happen to you. It changes you. It already has. We kind of went over all this last time, so there's not really much to say, but if you want advice, I'll give it to you: go get her. I mean, come on. You guys are about to go away to a different planet where you'll have virtually no chance with her whatsoever if it's not already arranged by the time you get there. You're an orphan soldier, and no matter how high her ranking there will always be suitors lined up for her, waiting to capture her heart, with more money and power and social status than you will ever have- unless you marry her, of course", _imaginary Amy said off to the side, to soft for Lance to hear.

Imaginary Lance gulped. He knew she was right. He had to tell her now, to tell her that he loved her.

_Right! _Imaginary Amy applauded, hearing his thoughts. _Besides, at this point, what have you got to lose? _

Lance thought about this and shrugged. Imaginary Amy smiled.

_Good. Now, if you're not already disturbed by the fact that you're having a conversation with me in your head- which doesn't make sense anyway, as I'm really you and therefore can't tell you anything that you already know- then you should probably snap out of it. Go to Prom, tell Ilana you love her. I'm already halfway there. Even you've realized that the noise you heard from downstairs wasn't Newton fixing the door._

_What do you mean by that? _Imaginary Lance demanded, but she just winked at him and Lance found himself being shaken awake by an amused and slightly irritated Ilana.

"Huh? What? What happened?" He asked, automatically wide awake and ready for whatever danger came their way.

Ilana smirked. "Your sister happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Her bedroom window is open, and she's vanished along with Andre...and her Prom dress."

Lance stared straight ahead, and then started laughing. Ilana looked at him with concern, probably thinking he'd gone crazy (and slightly worried for Andre's health once Lance tracked him down), and Lance just walked to his closet and grabbed his tux.

"Go ahead and get changed, Ilana. We're going to Prom."

**Okay, so don't worry, I'm writing more shortly (like, right now), but I figured I'd stop here and update in case of Mom suddenly barging in and demanding a birthday carwash 'straightaway!' or some other birthday request such as that. Review, por favor. Gracias. **

**Until next time. (A few hours, maybe less). **


	19. ERMAHGERD GUYS NOT A CHAPTER BUT READ!

Okay, really fast:

Yes, I haven't updated. So sorry. I've got writer's block in the way where, I know what I want to write, but don't know how to write it. I had the next chapter partway done, but then my laptop restarted, and you can't save on the 'copy-n-paste' mode, so anyway. I'm working on it, don't worry. Soon.

NOW.

OH. MY. FRICKING. GOSH.

GUYSSSSSSS.

(epic caps lock time)

SO I WAS AT DINNER WITH MY MOM AND AUNT AND HER FRIEND (who apparently has a minor in Germanic Satan Literature, but that's a different story) AND IT HAPPENED.

IT. HAPPENED.

SO WE WERE TALKING ABOUT ANIME EXPO (which was recently and awesome, and don't worry I added a picture of Lance to a drawing wall for us SBT fans ;3) AND THEY WERE GETTING CARTOONS AND ANIME MIXED UP AND THEN...

My Aunt: "You know, your Uncle (her boyfriend [long story]) has a niece that's the VP of Cartoon Network and in charge of programming."

GUYS.

DO. YOU. KNOW. WHAT. THIS. MEANS?!

VP OF CARTOON NETWORK. IN CHARGE OF _**PROGRAMMING.**_

SHE SHALL HAVE EFFECT ON THINGS!

GUESS WHAT I'M DOING.

I'M WRITING HER A LETTER REGARDING SBT!

And I know she'll get it because my 'uncle' (again, long story) is close with her so she'll read it!

I know that it probably won't change anything, but then again, maybe it will. Maybe this letter will be so epic SBT will come back!

So. I'm finishing the letter on Thursday. That's two days. If there's anything you really want me to add in for you guys, let me know! Put it in the review section or PM me, whatever you want! I'm just really psyched- we have a chance! I wonder if my uncle can arrange a meeting... hmmmmm...

SO, SUGGEST AWAY, MY LITTLE SBT FANS! LET US TRY AND REVIVE THE BEST SHOW CARTOON NETWORK HATH EVER PRODUCED!

(And, yes, don't worry, I'm working on the writer's block. Trying to get the creative juices flowing with some other things. I'll get back to you on that.)


	20. Not a chapter, again Sorry

Hey everyone!

So, as it's been over a month since my last update, I reckoned you all deserve an explanation. I'm not giving up on this story, not even close. There is this thing I have going on, though, and it's called life. It's busy and stressful and complicated and even sometimes beautiful, but figuring it out takes time and right now I'm trying to piece back together small pieces of it so things will (hopefully) start to make sense again. I'm fine, for now, but I think I need to explore some things for a little while before I get back to this story. I really do love it, and want to give it (and all you readers) the ending deserved. So, please excuse my temporary absence- I promise an update before the end of August. Sorry, thanks, and good luck until we meet again.

~Orange H.


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